Cllr Lewis Mears and Cllr Shaun Garrett have been out engaging with residents today on the Old Dean. A productive morning, with lots of follow-up action taken away, including addressing concerns over Accent Housing.
Shaun and Lewis are planning more events such as this, given the positive engagement received from local residents, and are also looking at running a regular surgery for the ward.
Commenting, Shaun said:
"Just got back from a walk around part of the Old Dean Ward with Cllr Lewis Mears.
"We started the morning by stopping in at Old Dean Cafe for a hearty breakfast. When we had finished it was good to speak with a number of residents who brought to our attention some issues which will be able to bring up with Officers at Surrey Heath and also something to bring up with Accent Housing.
"The next stop was Diamond Ridge Woods at Lorraine Road where a number of residents have reported the dumping of rubbish along with quite a pungent smell. We did notice a number of pieces, where rubbish had been dumped and left a little bit of a smell. I know we sent officers up there yesterday, so we need to follow up with them to see if they had taken any action. I have emailed officers this afternoon to obtain an update.
"We then reported a large pothole on Ballard Road at the junction of Kingston Road, a pothole on Mitcham Road and another at the junction of Esher Road and Mitcham Road. Whilst we were in the area, we popped into Esher Road to take a look at the flytipping that we have been made aware of to the back of the bins there. Since getting home this has been reported to Accent.
"We were stopped by a couple of residents to see if we can look into the possibility of putting a rubbish bin just inside the woods on Esher Road. I have this afternoon emailed officers for this to be looked into.
"We noticed the Virgin Box on Mitcham Road is still covered in a black bag and gaffa tape. Whilst standing there I found my email and yet again chased the Executive Team at Virgin Media
"It was great to pop into At the old dean rec and speak to the team who are setting it up, I know they are on the lookout for volunteers, so please contact them if you are interested.
"We have also sent a follow up email to officers about the continued glass around the playground and pavilion. It appears that there is some new glass but also some legacy glass which just hasn't been cleared away.
"We wanted to check out some potholes, I had previously reported near the Judo Club which seem to have been fixed and whilst we were over that way, myself and Lewis popped onto PoppyHills to take a look at the field so I could highlight to him the issue with the unevenness of the pitch and the fact that it is not really suitable to be used as a football pitch. Yesterday, Lewis and I received an invite from the team at Borough and County to discuss just this subject to see what our options are moving forward. We will obviously update you as we have more to say.
"We returned to the Old Dean Parade and popped in to see Emmett at Oysters Fish and Chips who made us aware of some antisocial behaviour outside the shop recently, we will be following this up with Surrey Heath Beat (Surrey Police). It was good to pop into MODA Barbers Camberley as and say hello to the team. We sat on the bench to put some other dates in the diaries and another resident came up to discuss another issue which we will be looking at!
"All in all, we found it a very productive morning. We plan to do more in the future and are looking to run a regular surgery at various places around the Old Dean Ward in the future."
If there are any issues you want to raise with your Old Dean councillors, or things you have already reported that haven't been sorted yet please contact Shaun or Lewis on:
