The meeting of the Local Spending Board – Esher and Hersham was held this evening, with the local Ward Councillors including Richard Williams and David Young from ERA. The purpose was to review infrastructure projects that had been submitted for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding.

Unfortunately the local fund didn’t have much money left – just £66k for Esher Ward and £42k for Hersham Ward. These amounts are based on an allocation of contributions made by local developments towards infrastructure and also depend on how much was left after previous spending. So a number of worthy projects missed out.

The projects that were successful in our area were:

1. A244 Pegasus Crossing between Esher Common and Arbrook Common: £40k was allocated for Surrey Highways to undertake the detailed design. After that the funding will be requested for the actual implementation – but that could be another year away – so we will keep the pressure on to move this forward as fast as possible.
2. Lower Green path improvements: £6k was allocated to fund pathway improvements under the railway bridge between Lower Green Rd and Douglas Rd heading to Cranmere Primary School.
3. Sandown Gymnastics Academy: Just under £20k to support the setting up of this new gymnastics venue which will be based in Lower Green and provide a valuable service for children and adults of all ages in Lower Green, Esher, Hersham and the rest of Elmbridge.
4. Hersham Riverside footpath improvements: £7k to extend and surface the footpath across Hersham Riverside and allow usage throughout the year.