With the consultation phase complete, councillors are deciding on the final details of plans for better youth facilities in the park.

Paul Elderton said, ‘There is evidence that the park does not provide satisfactory facilities for young people. The consultation has identified what these new facilities should be and designers have suggested sites and provided drawings and written descriptions of the equipment required. The money for the project is available but must be spent as soon as possible.

There are choices for councillors to make based on the comments of young people and local residents. With the security provided by an excellent close circuit television facility, it should be possible for the park to be an attractive venue for young people as it already is for parents of younger children, footballers, cricketers and those who just want to relax in our park’.

There are several areas of Dorking town which have residents associations. Lincoln Road, next to the main station, has a small number of residents but an active resident’s association.

Paul Elderton said, ‘I was pleased to be invited to their annual general meeting this week. There are a number of important issues to discuss.

The road has an unsatisfactory parking management scheme with residents competing with commuters and local businesses for space and the necessity, under the present rules, to move vehicles during the day from one side of the road to the other. This is unsatisfactory and district and county councillors are looking for a better solution.

There are also problems with the refuse and recycling bins, particularly from some rented dwellings in the road and also with dog fouling.

The residents of the road are to be congratulated upon their association and the time and effort given to improve the lives of people living in the street’. 

After waiting for nine months, the residents of Rothes Road have the carriageway of their road resurfaced and re-lined.

Paul Elderton said, ‘As a resident, it was interesting to see the road with no cars parked from one end to the other. Several of my neighbours took photographs to remember the day.

It was interesting to learn that the cars which were towed away belonged to non-residents who parked their cars for long periods in our road.

Parking in the road has become more difficult with the increase in charges at our carparks driving motorists who are visitors, workers, shoppers and others to find free parking places.

We await a really heavy rainstorm to show us if the drainage w0rks efficiently and effectively as the asphalt was laid over the existing surface’.

On the 23rd December 2008, as most people were thinking more of the Christmas and New Year celebrations than local politics, the executive of Mole Valley District Council published plans for next year’s budget.

There were some shocks as the detailed figures were studied. The proposed budget included some above inflation increases in charges for council services, some for this financial year and some for next.

The proposed new charges for plots at our allotments were much greater than inflation but the detail which angered opposition councillors and allotment holders was the proposed abolition of concessions for pensioners, students and the unemployed.

Local businesses and the organisations which represent them have responded angrily to the proposals for increased parking charges. Dorking businesses have organised petitions asking for short stay rates to be decreased but saying that any increases are ‘bad for business’ in the town.

The reduction in the subsidy to Dorking Halls which would have - and perhaps already has had - a detrimental affect on the programmes has also been the subject of campaigns in the town to raise public awareness and influence council decisions.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau, which in Surrey is funded by the districts, is also facing cuts in support, with the Leatherhead office lease being ended.

Paul Elderton says, ‘I shall be voting against this budget. I shall be continuing to work with other Liberal Democrat councillors to oppose these proposals both in public with petitions and demonstrations and in the council chamber during the budget debate’.

Paul Elderton says, ‘I was pleased to have this newsletter through the letterbox this afternoon.

Dorking Town Forum, which includes all councillors and representatives from a number of organisations in the town is given a report on crime in Dorking every month.

Our town and district enjoys low levels of crime and it is interesting to note that, with each description of a crime - or group of similar crimes, -the newsletter reports detection and arrests and gives more space to excellent advice about crime prevention.

There is also a renewed invitation to local people to develop a Neighbourhood Watch scheme, in partnership with the police, if such a network does not exist in a local area.’

‘I was very pleased that Mole Valley District Council passed the motion on identity cards unanimously.

The council resolved, unless required by law, not to require identity cards for people using the council’s services, not to take part in any preparation for the introduction of the card and not to use the national database which is associated with the card.

Mole Valley District Council has joined the lengthening list of local authorities to pass similar resolutions and our motion was publicised by the local No2ID group in the local media and in their national newslink.

Today comes the further news that Surrey County Council has passed a similar motion. This was proposed by Cllr. Steve Cooksey, member for Dorking and the Holmwoods. It is interesting to note that this motion was passed ‘overwhelmingly’ but ‘not unanimously. The Conservative group on the council was divided and members of their executive voted for and against.

Paul Elderton says, This is a very important campaign. We have done what we can for the time being but the campaign is far from over!’

‘Last week, I visited Loddon Valley Leisure Centre near Reading to see a youth pod. Leisure Connection, who run Dorking Leisure Centre for Mole Valley District Council arranged the visit for me.

A youth pod is an area of the gym for use by young people from the age of eight which contains equipment designed to make exercise interesting.

The exercise bicycle, for example, has a screen displaying a road or track with other riders or vehicles with different levels of effort required to complete a course or ‘come out alive’.

The wall of the pod has lights placed below, above and at eye level. A random light flash area can by tapped to extinguish it and the number of extinguishing taps per minute is recorded for as a level for others to beat.

Other dedicated equipment is avalable with an instructor to explain and encourage’.

Paul Elderton says, ‘I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the instructor and the use of the game model to encourage exercise. I shall talk about this visit to people in Mole Valley to encourage a similar development here’. 

‘I welcome the consultation on the future of facilities on Meadowbank, particularly the work with young people to improve our provision for their needs.

This has not been a good year for Meadowbank, particularly the area most easily accessible to people coming down Mill Lane or from London or Rothes Road. The lowest part of the park is recognised flood plain but during wet periods the surface has been covered with rain water and the amusements provided for the recent fireworks and the visit of the fair earlier in the year damaged the surface particularly by the Mill Lane entrance.

I have asked for any plan to improve the facilities on the park to include a survey of drainage and for money to be spent to make the surface of the park more resilient to vehicle and public use by reinforcing the surface and putting in land drains. I understand that the area was disturbed by temporary use as a car park during the construction of the multistory below St Martins Walk.

It is also important for any plan to include a large space for games for groups of young people and families. The area is also a sunbathing and after-school meeting area if the weather is good. We need to extend the use of the area into spring and autumn months by reinforcing the surface and speeding its drying after rain - or flood’.  

Surrey NHS Primary Care Trust have just concluded a series of three consultations with the title, ‘Assuring Access’. These were on Unplanned Care, Planned Care and Outpatients with Diagnostics. These consultations were for local people, - usually from patient or protest groups, local councillors, - district and county representatives with managers and consultants from various parts of the health service.

The process was called ‘co-design’ with a ‘neutral’ academic leading a discussion of the issues arising from small group discussions of different types health care provision in the area. Briefings were sent to representatives for study before all the sessions.

Important issues arising included

(a)the problems of planning services with younger patients using the internet to decide where and when to receive treatment,

(b) the problem of ‘risk aversion’, competance and safety concerns in local centres like small hospitals and surgeries against the need to take services closer to the groups like older people and those living in remote areas

(c) and problems like ‘bedblocking’ which are caused by the division of reponsibility between the NHS and local authorities for, respectively, health and welfare in the community. 

Paul Elderton said, ‘ I was asked to emphasise that many Dorking patients prefer referral to Epsom Hospital rather than a journey to Redhill or Guildford but would prefer to be treated near home. I was pleased to hear that Dorking Hospital might be used for inpatients again.

I enjoyed attending these consultations but it is difficult to know whether decision-makers were influenced by what patient or protest group representatives or local councillors said. We shall now wait for the recommendations to be published and respond to these’. 

Sutton and East Surrey Water have written to me about their metering programme. The suppliers are particularly concerned to contact users of  ‘garden watering devices’ and swimming pools. The letter explains, ‘reseach shows that water meters encourage customers to avoid wasting water’.

Paul Elderton said, ‘I welcome this campaign to contact particular water users but would like the supplier to encourage all users to conserve water. If metering works, it should be promoted for all users’.