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Dorking SOS are a large group of local residents who were initially formed to oppose a major new supermarket in the heart of our town. With more plans now afoot to massively increase supermarkert provision in Dorking our fight continues..

Dorking Town Area Action Plan (28th Feb 2010) Did you know that plans for how Dorking Town centre is to change over the next 15 years are currently being finalised, and that YOU can have a say in the matter? Do you know how many members of the public have currently had any input to the process with just a month of the consultation left to run? Not a single one, at the time of writing. That's right: of the 17,000+ people who live in Dorking not even one has responded to the council's questions. Some huge decisions are being made by council officials which will have a massive impact on our town for decades to come, and perhaps for ever. Many of those making the decisions do not even live in Dorking and will be personally unaffected by the decisions they are making. Others are likely to be influenced by the council's own needs rather than those of the town and its people. Are you prepared to let the council make these decisions without you having a say in the matter? Here's some of the things which the council are currently proposing to do, or are under consideration: Build an additional 3,100 sqm of supermarket provision somewhere in the town. That's bigger than Tescos in Leatherhead, and would be an 80% increase on what we currently have in the town. They won't tell us at this stage where they want to put the supermarket (or even whether there would be one big supermarket or several smaller ones). Build an additional 2,700 sqm of non-supermarket floorspace somewhere in the town. That's around the size of Sainsbury's in Leatherhead, except it's likely that the council envisage this to comprise of several units rather than one big shop. They have looked into expanding the Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores in the town, and doubling the size of Waitrose. However the council are of the view that this alone would not be enough to meet the need to the people of Dorking. The council would also not benefit financially from increasing the size of either store. Sell council land in Curtis Road and/or Vincent Lane to allow a new supermarket to be built out of the town centre. Develop the area behind St Martin's Walk for an additional shopping area or a new supermarket, including the site of the Malthouse. This is the site where Thornfield and Sainsbury's tried to develop two years ago. Move the town's markets. Move the council's offices out of Pippbrook, and use the site for housing or possible supermarket provision. Make several changes to the Town's traffic system including reversing the flow in Junction Road and widening Vincent Lane. Move the town's police station from Moore Road. Remove the magistrates' court and use the site for another purpose, possibly housing. Move the town's library and use the site for another purpose, possibly housing. Use land at Dene Street, Tutts Garage, Vincent Walk and the rear of the White Horse Hotel for new developments, most likely housing. There are of course several things which are not included in the plans which many people might like to see including a Residents Parking Scheme and a commitment to improve the traffic flow at Pump Corner. We believe that most if not all of these issues affect every single person living in the town and many more people will have strong views on these issues than are currently responding to the council's consultations (which as we have said is none at all at present). In particular we have concerns with the enormous proposals for additional supermarket and non-supermarket space in the town. If built this would have profound implications for the town's traffic system, jobs and local economy. Many local shops would undoubtedly be threatened by enormous new supermarkets in the town. So would the local economy. Studies have shown that only 5% of money spent in supermarkets is retained the local area - the rest is siphoned out of the town. This compares with local shops which can return as much 50% of their income to the local economy. Local shops are far more likely to use goods and services within the town for their business than a national retailer would. With so many shops currently standing empty does the town really require yet more shops? The size, structure and location of Dorking would suggest to us that it needs to emphasise its differences to other nearby towns rather than present a pale imitation of the larger centres which surround us. Looking at many of the proposals the council's main objective seems to be to make as much money as possible for the district council by selling land and entering into lucrative deals with supermarket developers. Has sufficient thought been given into what the people of Dorking really want and need, rather than the council's exchequer? Whether you agree with our concerns or not, surely the fact that so few people in Dorking are contributing to the council's plans cannot be right. If you would like to see the plans online you can go to the MVDC LDF You can comment on the plans online if you go to the consultation portal. You'll need to register to add comments to the portal site, and look for the coloured sections in the document where comments can be entered after you've registered. There's also a newsletter which tells you a bit more: The newsletter contains details of how to make your comments on paper, but you will need to cross reference the plans to get the section numbers you would like to comment on. Finally if you are finding it too difficult to respond to the consultation please let the council know rather than not bothering. It would be criminal if the only reason you did not respond was because the council have made it too hard. Here's how you can contact the council. E-mail: ldf@molevalley.gov.uk Telephone: 01306 885001 Post: Planning Policy Team, Mole Valley District Council, Pippbrook, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1SJ In person: The Council Offices, Pippbrook, Dorking and Leatherhead Help Shop, High Street, Leatherhead

E-mail: enquiries@dorkingsos.org.uk
Mail: Dorking SOS, PO Box 415, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 2WF.