Redhill Business Guild Members Meeting 25th January 2023
Simon Bland: East Surrey Business Survey
Simon is a familiar face at the Guild as the Head of Economic Prosperity at Reigate & Banstead Borough Council.
The council has a shared business interest to provide consistency of support across the four areas that form East Surrey (Epsom & Ewell, Reigate & Banstead, Mole Valley, Tandridge).
The local authority is committed to help in difficult times, working together to improve the chances of the business community.
It has been observed that businesses often suffer in relation to residents, and in order to promote East Surrey better they have devised a local survey to get a picture of what the needs are.
Clearly the more responses the council gets, the better plans and actions can be focused to meet the needs of local businesses; so they are looking for current information on the challenges people are facing now.
There is a separate survey being run for transport and infrastructure in the area.
The gathered information will be presented to elected members so that in the Summer the council can begin to develop a programme and communicate it.
Feedback is really required from local businesses, and at present much more has been received from Reigate than Redhill. Members are urged to use and pass on the link.
https://eastsurreybusinesssurvey.co.uk
Andrew Atkins: Redhill Station proposed redevelopment
Andrew is Development Director for Solum, a Partnership between Kier Property and Network Rail. Solum are the developers of the new Redhill Station complex.
They have already completed work at Guildford and Twickenham stations which are real life examples of what they can do.
Research shows the station is taking considerably less passengers post-covid; recovery has started and is on-going although not likely to reach pre-covid areas for a while.
Redhill station is performing well in accident statistics and on customer survey responses, but user experience still leaves room for improvement.
The station has had numerous bolt-on developments over the years that keep it working day to day but would benefit from an overall view. e.g. the information screens are right over the entry gates which impedes customer flow, and the Redstone Hill side has some dilapidated buildings that are no longer used.
The original plan received consent in 2014, but that was in co-operation with a major supermarket chain who were planning on installing new premises on the site. When the supermarket pulled out, the plan came to a halt.
There is zero public subsidy for this, so any scheme needs to be self-funding, and it needs to enable the station to keep running while work is going on.
The key points are
Main entry – including taxi, vehicle drop-off, and parking – will be moved to the rear of station
New retail units at Princess Way entrance, which will not be large but will compliment travel experience
There will be a slight drop in parking space as it is not being used so much, but not all the site is being developed so there will be space for further work by Network Rail at a later date if necessary.
Construction of a residential building 19 stories high (the tallest building in Redhill is currently 13). This will be geared to younger people without families
Overall this represents £6m of station improvements
Various concerns were raised including:
Free flow of traffic at busy times, especially around
The build up of traffic at the junction of St Annes and Carrington School – analysis has been done with Surrey highways tested and analysed in 2014 with the view of a supermarket being in the area, which would have added considerably to the problem
Pedestrian road crossing – this is an issue under the management of Surrey highways with whom the scheme has been developed.
Sustainability – the new flats will be 30% more energy efficient than current builds
Parking for the new flats – this will be considerably less than one parking space per unit (0.2), but this is in line with current policies to discourage car use and is in line with other town centre developments here and elsewhere.
Access and parking for the disabled – parking will be increased but the existing lifts are not part of the new development and will continue to be used during and after the work.
Further information can be obtained here: https://solumredhillstation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/01/solum-development-boards.pdf
Dan Reynolds: RH Networking
As a locksmith, Dan told us, his primary business is often breaking into people’s homes! RLM Locksmiths was set up in 2019 and in Dan’s enthusiastic hands has rapidly grown in both public awareness and popularity. And they have recently teamed up with Crossroads Care to provide discounts to holders of the Surrey Carers Card.
3 years ago Dan set up RH Networking to give businesses in the RH postcode areas a chance to connect.The plan was to get something for new business owners that is accessible and affordable.They ran 3 events (the 2nd was in Harlequin) before Lockdowns and continued to meet online during them.
Members get a free web listing and apart from the events can join a very active WhatsApp group for plenty of friendly, free business advice. Guests are always welcome. The next meeting will be in Horley on 28th February.
This year they have had a rebrand which includes a direct debit option for payment, at £10 a month. And they are also planning 2 special events in March and September at the Harlequin. These are “Speed Networking” events that will be informal and fun. They have sponsors for evenings and are aiming to have 100 people in March, 300 in September! Please register for free as soon as possible.
More details are available at: rhnetworking.co.uk
Dan also told us about the newly launched Horley Business Guild https://www.horleyguild.co.uk/ for people doing business in Horley starts next week. The first meeting is on 1st Feb in the evening and 17th Feb during the day. Contact
Tom Moore: Autism Friendly Redhill
Tom works with the Surrey Autism Partnership Board (https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/adults/care-and-support/disability/spb/apb)
About 1:100 people are autistic, and Surrey has developed an All Age Autism Strategy (2021 – 2026) to offer appropriate support.
Research shows there are often significant barriers for access to resources. The aim is not just to impart training and information, but also to create an autism-friendly community. Redhill has been selected to pioneer – under the title, Autism Friendly Redhill – a community that is accessible for autistic people, with a view to roll this out to other towns in Surrey.
The main process for doing this is to create links between GP surgeries, libraries, the Council, and voluntary, faith and business sectors. There is now funding for this. They have identified key staff and trained 65 already. All of this has been very favourably reviewed and they are keen to roll it out to other businesses, both online and face to face.
There is an on-going group hosted by Surrey Care Trust – open to anyone who is interested in what is happening or developing services. They are focused on autism but very aware of and working with other near diverse groups. There is a very moving short video of their work available here: https://www.surreycaretrust.org.uk/get-involved/
Summary
All in all, another great meeting. Thank you to all who attended – always great to see some new faces among our old friends, and to put faces to names we’ve heard through other involvements in town life. Networking has always been a core activity for Redhill Business Guild, but we have always been more than just a networking event. We like to hear about things going on in the community and have made space for and supported local charities. Redhill does not have the burden of a great past to live up to, it has an exciting future to grow into! See you at the next meeting.
