About Us
We’ve been working for the Esher ward since 1976, giving people living and working here a bigger and more direct say about local affairs.
The objectives of the ERA are:
- To foster a community spirit
- To conserve and improve the way of life in Esher
- To provide a forceful public voice on matters affecting residents
- To take action with an on behalf of individuals who need help on local authority matters
- To return representatives to Elmbridge Council so as to be able to carry out effectively the above objectives.
ERA members have one important thing in common: they live in the Esher ward and care about it and about what happens to it. They want to make their own decisions affecting their neighbourhood and their own quality of life.
The Esher ward (which includes West End, Lower Green and Hersham Riverside/Longmore) is a cosmopolitan community and the ERA has always actively welcomed support from those temporarily resident here.
The ERA is a non-party political organisation whose concerns and activities are confined to the Esher ward and matters affecting Esher – a community of over 3,700 households. It puts up non-party aligned ERA candidates for election to Elmbridge Council. It firmly believes that party politics, of any colour, do not belong in local government at borough level and it has this in common with associations in Thames Ditton, Hinchley Wood, Molesey and Walton all of whom are represented by independent Elmbridge Councillors.
Currently, ERA has three Elmbridge Borough Councillors – Richard Williams, David Young and Simon Waugh (who is also the Elmbridge Mayor)
Esher Residents Association 
Dear Sir/Madam, I would be grateful if you could post some information on what us being done to get Garsons to open the other entrance they have. The blockages on Winterdown road this summer have been intolerable. As has the litter, traffic and parking. Something must be done.
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Dear Helen, David, one of our two committee members for West End has investigated and his response is below:
“The ERA cannot but agree with the website post, but there are some encouraging signs.
Covid 19 has made this a particularly busy summer in West End. The village green was full of families from May onwards; Surrey and beyond seems to have discovered the village and left its litter here. Also, Garson’s Farm complex has been full on throughout, attracting a similarly wide range of visitors. Finally, the local woods have been a site for dog walkers, bikers, hikers and joggers. The traffic, especially in Winterdown Road, has been way beyond a normal summer, which is very charged anyway. At one stage this narrow road, with the locals’ cars also parked in places, was in a state of near-permanent standstill. In the hot weather, the pollution alone was a major concern. (Oddly, this was all happening early on when the rest of Surreys roads were virtually deserted)
Over many years Garsons has been engaged in helping to manage the problems of traffic and litter. They put out traffic cones at critical points, provide traffic control and manage their own deliveries to avoid busy periods; they also help clear up litter. Nonetheless, the ERA will meet with them again before the end of the year to see what else can be done. Alternative road access has been explored exhaustively with them: a bridge over the Mole from Hersham was a possibility but extremely expensive. The Hersham residents were not in favour either. A road could be built from West End Lane, but as this would cut through Surrey’s woods this would raise an even bigger storm.
Garsons is usually regarded as an asset to the village. It is worth recognising that if they got fed up and left, the alternative on their land might not be such an asset. On the litter front, the families who visited the green this year were mostly careful how they left it each evening. The problem is that overnight foxes, crows, etc tear through the waste bins and leave the contents everywhere. Burleys visit each week – sometimes more – to clear up and change the bags and villagers themselves do the clearing most days. The solution is better, bigger and more secure bins which the ERA will work on over the winter.
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Thanks for your message Helen.
One of our two committee members in West End, will pick up the entry matter with Garsons.
Traffic and parking are a matter for Surrey County Council – Elmbridge Borough Council has no power over this. You may find it helpful to write to peter.szanto@surreycc.gov.uk, he is our local SurreyCC councillor.
There is a plague of litter across the borough at the moment. Elmbridge BC has posted signs in the black-spots, but it doesn’t seem to change behaviour much. If you can send some pics of the worst rubbish and its location to me at rwilliams@elmbridge.org.uk, I will take it up with the officers.
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Hi, I am an A Level geography student at Esher college and am currently completing my coursework on housing development within Esher, I was wondering if it would be possible for you to link my questionnaire onto your Facebook group to aid me in collecting primary data. The questionnaire is fully annoyanous and any data collected will only be used by me.
Many thanks
Emma Drummond
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