Local Borough Election - Peter Harp
About
BOROUGH COUNCIL ELECTION
Thursday May 2nd 2024 7am-10pm
Thursday May 2nd 2024 7am-10pm
PETER HARP
Peter has been a resident of Nork for over 50 years and councillor for the last 5 years.
Member of the Planning Committee, Chairman of the Standards Committee, chaired two working groups on planning (local character and environmental sustainability).
Qualified archaeologist who has advised Historic England and led numerous excavations. Member of Surrey County Council Historic Environment Forum. Former Chairman of Surrey Archaeological Research Committee.
Banstead Commons Conservator. Administrator of Friends of Nork Park, Volunteer for Queen Elizabeth Foundation.
Working closely with local scouts to assist with their continuing use of Scout Ridge opposite Banstead Station.
A Message from the Chairman
Peter Harp has served Nork Ward as a Councillor since May 2019, following a lifetime of public service in heritage, archaeology and the environment. He has lived in Nork for over 50 years and is a familiar sight both locally and as a volunteer for a local charity for the disabled.
In addition to sitting on full Council meetings, he has spent four of the last five years on the Planning Committee. Of the Councillors in our Borough he has one of the highest attendance records.
Peter and I proposed the creation of the Friends of Nork Park Facebook group, which has over 1,600 members. This group not only safeguards and provides a forum for users of our park, it also has members involved in such projects as litter picking the Park and our streets. He has been the driving force behind many local projects such as replacing bus shelters and the Fir Tree Road fencing. His perseverance over many months of emails to the Borough and County Council led to the resurfacing of the footpath from the A217 into The Horseshoe. Recently, he arranged for the planting of Coronation Oaks in Tattenham Recreation Ground for the King on behalf of the residents of Nork.
Local Politics
We as your Residents’ Association believe that there is no place for party politics in local government. Our creed has always been to seek best value and what is best for Nork from our councillors without having to follow a party line.
Together, our three Residents’ Association Councillors, George Hinton, Gemma Adamson and Peter Harp, represent the people of Nork at the Borough Council. With Nick Harrison, our Residents’ Association County Councillor, they offer a joined-up service. They are there for you to help with your problems, whether it be planning, roads, litter or a host of other things that matter to you as local residents. For example, we have recently had a defibrillator sited at Drift Bridge VW in Fir Tree Road.
I commend Peter Harp to you as your Councillor.
Bob Ferris
Chairman Nork Residents’ Association
ENVIRONMENT
At Peter’s suggestion the Friends of Nork Park group was set up to not only keep our park looking great but also carry out monthly litter-picks of the roads in Nork. The group now has over 1,600 members. Another group, Nork Park Conservation Volunteers, organised by Cllr George Hinton, works in the park increasing biodiversity through woodland management and hedge-laying.
The park’s trim trail was refurbished recently and, following the installation of the new toddler playground in Tattenham Recreation Ground, the new playground for older children in Nork Park, and the outdoor gym. We continue to work towards installing a pump track which is scheduled for completion in 2025.
This year has seen more work in the old walled kitchen garden, the planting of several oaks to mark the Coronation, and a memorial service at the Queen Elizabeth Oak to mark her passing.
Peter has planted the new Coronation Oaks and joined the residents of Rosebushes area, persuading the county council to plant hundreds of trees along the Reigate Road to replace those removed due to disease.
Our Residents’ Association councillors have ensured there is council funding for planting new verge trees through a CIL levy: the first ward in the borough to do this. Peter is overseeing this planting programme.
Peter has a background in environmental science and is a Banstead Commons Conservator, responsible for protecting 1,361 acres of open land around Banstead Commons including Banstead Downs and Burgh Heath. He chairs a council working group on environmental sustainability strategy and has written guidance for archaeologists published by English Heritage.
ROADS & PAVEMENTS Our number one priority for 2023-24 was the resurfacing of the worst section of Nork Way, between Beacon Way and Parkwood View. This was achieved after extensive lobbying.
We review the state of all roads and footways and campaign continually for our priorities. We are proud that over the last 12 years more than 60 resurfacing and repair projects have been delivered.
Over the last year this has included the well-used footpath from Banstead Station to Eastgate; the footpath from the A217 to the Horseshoe, again well-used by school children to the Banstead schools and residents to the High Street, and the pavements in The Drive, Picquets Way and Fir Tree Close.
On the roads, we have had schemes in Harkness Close and Waterer Gardens. A flood scheme has also been implemented in Reigate Road.
We will continue to lobby for further schemes in our area, with money directed at tackling whole sections of roads, rather than piecemeal filling the odd pothole.
Last year we began a programme of replacing the wooden bus shelters in Fir Tree Road with new ones, funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy on developers.
PLANNING
The Residents Association vigorously scrutinises new planning applications, striving to preserve and protect the beauty and character of our area – minimising intensive and detrimental development. We promote the local environment and help residents oppose un-neighbourly cramped schemes with inadequate parking and loss of trees. We have had some notable successes, and have been able to reduce the number of houses in these developments by some 250 houses. Moreover most of the developments that have been built were only approved by the Government Inspector on Appeal, after we had persuaded the Planning Committee to refuse the application.
Acting with other parties we have successfully opposed incursions into the Green Belt. We are concerned about the possibility of building on the Green Belt over in Epsom & Ewell, on the Downs Farm land neighbouring Nork. We will oppose any such development. We will continue to lobby to ensure the local view is heard.
COUNCIL BUDGETS
With councils in the national news as going bankrupt, both the Borough and County Councils must be more effective than ever in using our money. This is why we scrutinise budgets in detail – exposing excess spending and highlighting ways to get better value.
At Reigate & Banstead, the Residents Association councillors voted against the budget as we did not support extra spending of over £4 million on a building project in Redhill. The project has been poorly managed and the council’s financial controls were ignored. The RA councillors also did not support proposals from Green Party councillors which would have meant spending an extra 3% of the council tax.
At Surrey, again the Residents Association councillors voted against the budget, as spending in preventative services for children are being unnecessarily reduced, despite finance being available through government grants. Earlier spending in this area can help avoid costly statutory intervention at a later date.
Dear Voter,
My term of office has brought a variety of opportunities to help the residents of Nork. This has included regular planning applications where I have worked with concerned residents, the Residents’ Association and groups such as Nork First, to minimise any adverse impact as far as is possible through the planning process.
During covid councillors were expected to become community leaders and I hope I have served you well, making myself available and approachable, whether in person when I meet you, or through my position as Secretary of the Residents’ Association.
I am particularly pleased with our success improving local infrastructure. In the last year alone, for example: resurfacing roads such as Nork Way and Waterer Gardens, resurfacing footpaths such as into The Horseshoe for residents walking to the High Street or going to Banstead Infants & Junior Schools and resurfacing the paths to Banstead Station. We maintained a programme of installing new bus shelters, planting trees in our park, and rolling out additional public defibrillators.
I was also pleased that the Residents’ Association agreed to my proposal to make a significant humanitarian donation to the people of Ukraine.
As a resident of Nork for over 50 years I have been honoured to represent you all at the Borough Council and hope you will confirm your faith in my continuing to serve you well by voting for Nork Residents’ Association at this election, to preserve, protect and improve the Nork we love.
Please exercise your vote to help make Nork a better place.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Harp