THE LEATHERHEAD RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION A Brief Sound of Silence, Cycles Rumble Through, the Roar of More Traffic to Follow At the time of writing, the Prudential RideLondon Cycle Race has just ended. Some of us enjoyed the spectacle of over 16000 cyclist pedalling through Leatherhead. The abundant energy of many people for numerous charitable causes exhibited true dedication. Some of my neighbours and I cheered for 3 hours and were sorry our voices would not withstand more shouting. Noticeably, few people observed the event. Some think only of the inconvenience of road closures and disruption the race causes. We were told that around 40 million pounds would go into the Surrey economy as a result of hosting the cycle race. This is far short of the over 700 million pounds brought by the 2012 Olympics games. However, in this time of austerity let's just hope that the money gives a boost to the local economy. One of the benefits of the road closures was a few hours of almost complete silence. There was no roar of motorway noise or hum of engines near or far. Briefly we were reminded of the Leatherhead of past times. By Monday we were brought back to reality. Unfortunately, part of that reality is the planned development of the Barnett Wood Allotments and the adjacent land belonging to Merton College. Whatever is planned for the site, further traffic and congestion will be generated. The nearby roads and motorways are already straining under an infrastructure that fails to cope. Some people are being exposed to noise and air pollution as cars create a car park like effect on key roads at peak times. Local people have petitioned the Council to cancel the plans to move the allotments from Leatherhead
to Ashtead. Over 2700 people signed the petition when given the opportunity on three occasions. Because the 'release of green belt land' and the 'development of allotment land' are highly emotive issues, many more would have been willing to sign. A big disappointment was that after delivering the petition to two groups at MV District Council, the petitioners were not allowed to hear the debate on the subject. Both MV Officers and Councillors expressed disappointment that EU rules on Procurement require that decisions be done without public exposure. By the time of publication, we will know which organisation has been given the right to put forward a plan for developing the site. Unfortunately, the petitioners had to wait two weeks to receive any information, although decisions will affect them profoundly. It is also a concern that the Council is giving the green light to the development of the Green Belt at this time. After all, the result of the Green Belt Boundary Review will not be published until December. In the meantime, the Fortyfoot Safety Campaign has come up with ideas upon which all parties can agree. For the first time in over one hundred years all involved have a common objective. The campaign's aim is the immediate repair of forty plus potholes for the safety of the children who are bused in daily. They also seek the long promised adoption of the road by Surrey County Council. LRA Open meeting - Monday 2nd September, Letherhead Institute, 7:30pm. Speaker: Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner, Kevin Hurley. All are welcome. Cheryl Allen
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