Rosebery Housing Association have withdrawn from this project and the borough council are set to take the lead on regenerating the area at the heart of the Longmead Estate, which has lain semi-derelict for years.
L&Q (London & Quadrant Housing Association) have confirmed that they are looking at ways of demolishing Horton Water Tower and have appointed a planning consultant to help.
One local Residents Association, a member of the registered political party Residents Associations of Epsom & Ewell, has obliquely blamed opposition councillors for the introduction of Blue Badge-holder parking charges.
"We have punched above our weight in government because we have a democratic party which has clear principles and policies" said Vince Cable in his keynote conference speech today.
I was concerned to see the article in last week's Beds on Sunday which suggested that a change to a two-tier schools system across the Borough is being pushed forward by the Council. It is not. When the Building Schools for the Future money was cut, that signalled the end for the Council's previously agreed reorganisation as it was dependent on that funding. I have made very clear since that there are just two exceptions to this: the changes in the case of Woodside Middle School due to the school being placed in special measures; and the new Bedford Academy and its feeder schools, as the Academy wishes to become an 11-19 secondary school and will receive the funds required for this change from government. It is absolutely vital that parents, students, teachers and schools have certainty on the way forward, so I will continue to state as plainly as possible that this is the situation.
On Thursday night I was invited to the Scrutiny Committee, after Conservatives on the Council called into question two recent Council decisions relating to CCTV. When it came to the meeting itself, the Conservative Councillors on the Committee asked very few questions at all on the two decisions, and I'm still not sure exactly why they made vociferous calls in the press for the decisions to be reviewed. However, I was glad of the opportunity to discuss the decisions and make clear that I am adamant that the Council will do all it can to make our communities safer while also ensuring the civil liberties of local residents are protected.