My Vision for Leatherhead: Councillor Heather Ward, October 2002

A friendly and bustling small town where we can meet our friends and find a useful range of services and shops. These should include family businesses as well as branches of multiple stores, a thriving market, and a choice of cafes and restaurants. It should be safe for families with small children and convenient for people with disabilities, but at the same time, the shops should be up to date and should give an efficient service. There should be pleasant pedestrian routes to the many attractions around the town, such as the river and the museum, and well designed open spaces within the town where public events can take place in safety. There should be a childrens’ play space close to the town.

Clearly, the two Councils, District and County, cannot control which businesses decide to come into the town, but they can play an important part in helping attract businesses and residents, and these are some of the ways that I think they should be doing it:

• Welcoming drivers from the West side of the town by improving the traffic circulatory system.
• Making it easier to park by providing convenient parking on all sides of the town, including the former depot site on Bull Hill.
• Promoting reliable and convenient local bus services and comfortable bus shelters.
• Making sure that in the High Street, at the times when vehicles are present, conflict between pedestrians and vehicles is avoided by careful placing of street furniture such as bollards and seats.
• Improving the alleyways and footpaths around the town and creating a pleasant open space in the middle of the town for public events.
• Continuing the development of the Red House Grounds and including a childrens’ play area in it.

When the roadworks are finished we will need to promote the town. I have heard a suggestion that we should aim for Leatherhead to be a place where people can have “stress free shopping”. We can promote it to visitors as the Gateway to the Surrey Hills.

Heather Ward
October 2002