Culture

Statement from Councillor Stephen Cooksey

Leader of Mole Valley District Council, Councillor Stephen Cooksey said, “Things are moving quickly this week and I wanted to give you an update on where we are with the reopening of some of Mole Valley’s community facilities.”

“From this weekend we will be reopening our tennis and basketball courts. Parks remain open too. While we want you to be able to enjoy using these facilities as part of your daily exercise please make sure you follow social distancing rules at all times. Please ensure you do not gather in groups of more than two people, except with members of your household. Updated guidance on social distancing can be found here.”

“It is also important that we don’t compromise on hand hygiene when out and about, particularly before and after touching any surfaces.”

“I would also like to reiterate that there are still around 400 businesses within Mole Valley that are entitled to claim a business grant, particularly those within Scout and Girl Guide groups, village/parish halls, sports clubs, riding/equestrian stables and tenants of business parks and serviced offices where they pay rates. If you know someone who is part of one of these organisations, please let them know that there is support available. Small Business Grants can be claimed here”.

Please be assured that if you have received a postcard from Joint Waste Solutions (JWS) regarding your food waste collection service, it is only the time of day that is changing, not the day of collection.

Your food waste will be collected by a separate waste vehicle from Monday 18 May. Please put your caddy out as you would on your normal collection day and leave it out until it is emptied.

“If you have received a letter from JWS, it is because your bin collection day is changing. The letter sets out which days are changing and when these changes take effect. If you have any questions, please visit jointwastesolutions.org or call us on 01306 885001.”

“I would like to thank everyone in Mole Valley for the continued kindness you are showing to each other as a community during this time.”

 

May 15, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle

Update from Karen Brimacombe at MVDC

Dear Partner

I thought you might appreciate some information regarding what services the District Council will be providing with effect from Monday 23 March.

Customers can continue to access our services by telephone and web in the normal way. With regards to Reception, we will be open at Pippbrook Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 1.00pm. During this time there will be an officer available from Housing, Benefits and Revenues to see any callers. We are encouraging people to phone us first and make an appointment. The Help Shop at Leatherhead will be closed, however residents will be asked to call us and we will do all we can to assist.

We are doing all we can to keep front line services up and running as much as possible and will be processing planning applications, licensing applications, investigating complaints etc as best we can. Clearly we will have to minimise visits to customers but we want to minimise disruption where possible.

At the current time refuse collections continue as normal, Leatherhead Leisure Centre is operating a reduced timetable and Dorking Leisure Centre is open. Our Civil Enforcement Officers and JET team are out and about to make sure we are a visible presence in the community.

Formal Council meetings have been cancelled or postponed  and we are awaiting guidance as to how we can facilitate remote decision making eg Planning Committee. Guidance is also awaited regarding the need to have the Annual Council meeting – we understand that we will be able to suspend the need for this.

In relation to community services 

Our attention has been on working out how best to support vulnerable members of our community who need support while self isolating.  We are currently working with Surrey CSVA and Surrey County Council to devise a scheme which matches those who need help with all those who are very kindly offering assistance (I know this includes many of you). I expect that this will be operational from the early part of next week – we will circulate more details as soon as we have them.

We are very conscious that, with our day centre closing, a lot of our older residents might miss the regular contact that they provide. Our team at the centre will be making regular contact with our customers and anyone who is registered with us as a vulnerable person. Clearly our telecare service operates as normal. 

Contacting us

In terms of contacting officers over the weeks to come, you can simply email or call them as normal as we will all be able to access our work phones from wherever we are working.

Thank you for all your ongoing help and support.

Best wishes

Karen Brimacombe

Chief Executive

Mole Valley District Council

 

March 20, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle, Sport

REMINDER – Headley Court Drop In Session, Wednesday 26th February

Join members of the Parish Council at Headley Village Hall tomorrow from 3.30pm.

There will be copies of the plans and a summary of the key concerns we have identified about the proposals. Parish Councillors will be present to discuss these and to listen to other issues that you might raise. The Parish Council also be able to provide help on how to make your own submissions.

 

February 25, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle

Bottle Giveaway Marks Installation of Water Refill Points

Hundreds of reusable bottles will be given away to passers-by during two events on 13 and 14 February 2020 to mark the installation of water refill point at the Swan Centre in Leatherhead and St Martin’s Walk in Dorking.  

Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) is delighted that the first water refill points are being installed in the district as part of its local environmental initiative, Refill Mole Valley. Together with over 65 local businesses signed up as Refill Stations, where drinking water is freely available. The two bottle fillers will further boost public access to drinking water and ensure that residents and visitors to Dorking and Leatherhead’s shopping centres can fill up their reusable bottles for free.

Representatives from MVDC and partner organisations SES Water and Surrey Environment Partnership will be in attendance at the events to help raise awareness of the wider need to tackle avoidable plastic waste and to give away reusable bottles. The two events will be held from 12pm in the Swan Centre on Thursday 13 February and St Martins Walk on Friday 14 February.

Councillor Claire Malcomson, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “The installation of the first two water refill points in the district is another big step forward in the fight against plastic waste. As part of us declaring a Climate Emergency last year, we have been delighted with the number of local businesses supporting the cause to increase public availability of drinking water by becoming Refill Stations. Please get involved and help us reach out to more businesses with this important message.”

Mike Goodman, Chairman of the Surrey Environment Partnership, said: “We’re committed to eliminating avoidable single-use plastics (SUP) in Surrey and these water refill stations will play a part in that. By encouraging residents to carry their own refillable water cups, we’ll help reduce the volume of SUP waste and counter the damaging effects of producing and dealing with it.”

February 3, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle

Pru Ride London Cycle Event

The Prudential RideLondon Cycle Event, and the associated professional cycle event, has been approved by Surrey County Council up until 2020.

The County Council has been in discussion with Transport for London with regard to the continuation of the event for 2021 and beyond and is now seeking views to inform a County Council Cabinet decision on whether the event should continue to be hosted in Surrey from 2021 to 2025.

The County Council has, however, committed to hold the 2021 event if the decision is not to continue to host the event in order to give the Organisers time to find an alternative host.

If the decision is to continue with the event it would be along a similar route to that currently used but with possible minor changes for operational reasons.

You can share your views online here before 16 February 2020.

January 20, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle, Sport

Detailed Design for Transform Leatherhead Riverside Park

On 4th February, Mole Valley District Council’s Cabinet will be asked to approve funds for the detailed design of the Riverside Park in Leatherhead. The proposed design work would build upon initial concepts from the Transform Leatherhead Masterplan with fresh analysis, further consultation and detailed technical work.

Transform Leatherhead proposes to create a riverside destination for residents, workers and visitors with a vibrant environment. It will offer greater recreational opportunities for all and respect and highlight the natural and historic setting. In the Masterplan of 2016, the potential uses proposed to achieve these aims included: a decked viewing point; a more pedestrian and cyclist friendly environment; natural play area; a pedestrian footbridge and enhancing riverside walking and cycle paths to the Business Parks.

The Cabinet is being asked to allocate £100,000 from the Regeneration Reserve to procure a team to deliver fresh analysis, concept design, and develop the technical design of the new park.  The detailed designs would be developed in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders to build on the existing knowledge and ensure the historical and ecological contexts are understood.

Councillor Keira Vyvyan-Robinson, Cabinet Member for Projects, said, “Leatherhead’s riverside area is a beautiful local asset yet many visitors are unaware of its presence and even locals are not always aware of all it has to offer. A distinctive natural area, wildlife habitat, Local Nature Reserve and containing a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) it is an area worth celebrating. Transform Leatherhead aims to enhance the area with greater recreational and environmental opportunities and improve its connections to the town. If the Cabinet approves the request for funding, a multi-disciplinary team will be appointed to work with MVDC to develop and deliver detailed plans to achieve this aim.”

January 20, 2020 in Community, Culture, Lifestyle, Sport