Introduction

Membership Directories
We were pleased to be able to despatch your 2003 Membership Directories at the beginning of this month ~ and hope they have arrived with you all safely … please let us know if your copy hasn’t been delivered. Entries have been updated with the information provided to us on the completed Details Forms we’ve received ~ and, where applicable, your details have also been amended within your free website listing.

Leatherhead Town Centre & District

Shopmobility Leatherhead
The Shopmobility Leatherhead scheme is due to be launched mid to end-May ~ its aim being to make Leatherhead accessible to those who are unable to get around on foot … and to make their visits to Leatherhead more enjoyable. Shopmobility Leatherhead will be owned and run by a group of trustees and volunteers, and in its initial stages will be operated on Tuesday of each week. The scheme already owns two electric buggies, and funds are being raised to acquire more ~ the Leatherhead Chamber has donated £150, which was raised by the Charity Raffle at the 2002 Christmas Dinner Dance.

A Shopmobility office has been constructed on Level 2 of the Swan Centre car park. Volunteers are needed to help man the office on a rota basis ~ and pledges of time on a regular basis … even if just for one hour … will be very gratefully received.

For further information about using the Shopmobility Leatherhead service, on becoming a volunteer, or to make donations in aid of the scheme, please get in touch with either: Peter Stait, Town Centre Manager, on: 01372 363652 or Bruce Andrews, Swan Centre Manager, on: 01372 376358.

Phase II
Following our recent enquiry, Tony Casey, Clerk of Works in Surrey County Council’s Local Transportation Service Mole Valley Department, has provided us with the following detailed schedule.

“The works currently in progress are as follows:
- construction of reinforced concrete retaining walls;
- installation of surface water drainage i.e. gulley pots;
- installation of ducting for underground cables;
- construction of underground chamber for fibre optic lighting projectors;
- installation of granite kerbs.

Works still to be completed are:
- kerbing;
- base course for paving;
- Yorkstone paving;
- construction of steps;
- installation of seats, litter bins, public notice board and sign post (street furniture);
- fibre optic wall lighting;
- road and footway L.E.D. lighting;
- new street lighting;
- balustrade;
- art work;
- granite and slate cladding to concrete walls;
- granite coping to walls;
- cleaning and sealing of paving.

The target date for substantial completion is Thursday 17th April. The contractor is currently working towards this date. Substantial completion will include kerbing, all paving areas, street furniture, street lighting, balustrade and artwork. It will not include cladding and coping to walls, fibre-optic lighting (because of long delivery times), final snagging and sealing of the paving. These are low key operations and can be carried out with minimal disruption.”

From Peter’s Pen …
… Peter Stait ~ Leatherhead Town Centre Manager

There has been a flurry of activity in the town since the last Newsletter and whilst it is probably widely known, I think it worth recording the names of the following retailers and businesses that have opened in the town since the end of January:

Blockbuster Video 28 High Street 01372-363095
Savers Health & Beauty 28a High Street 01372-363706
Lal Akash – Indian Restaurant 31 High Street 01372-377000
Exclusively Surrey – Estate Agents 15/17 Bridge Street 01372-362363

In addition, Next have opened their new extended store in the Swan Centre and Colorama have relocated to a unit close to Sainsbury’s.

Further shops will shortly be opening at 3 North Street (Chimes Delicatessen), 36/38 High Street (Skinners Furniture) and 5 Bridge Street. There is also substantial interest in the premises at 4a High Street, 16/18 High Street and the two remaining units in the Swan Centre.

Fitting out works for the new Post Office and Martins are well underway, with a target moving date of 17th April. This will allow works proper to start for the new 92 bedroom Travelodge Hotel, with an estimated opening date of March 2004. Fitting out works for the new Cannons Health & Leisure Club in The Crescent has started with an opening date planned for late July/early August.

From the above, I would venture to suggest that it is incomprehensible as to why Leatherhead featured at all in the recent television programme on High Streets. The somewhat shallow programme was filmed on a damp and dismal day in December, before the above openings had occurred and was therefore totally out of date before it was even screened. I gave a 5 minute interview to the producer highlighting most of the above information but, probably because this did not fit in with the tone and desired content, none of it was screened. It was a great pity that certain people saw fit to take part in it and run the town down rather than talking it up. The roadworks in the High Street are thankfully drawing to a close and the ornamental metalwork for them being designed and produced by Lucy Quinnell, Peter Parkinson and Lawrence Walker will, I think, provide an exciting contribution to the streetscape.

Whilst the availability of parking still remains a problem, a lot has happened in the town lately and a lot more has still to happen. Now is the time to put past differences behind and move on !

Parking Questionnaire ~ Overview of Results
Completed forms were returned by 25 Members, giving details of both their current and anticipated future parking requirements. Our thanks to all those who took part ~ the results of the survey … which we will be presenting to Mole Valley District Council … are shown below:

Quotes From The “Any Other Comments” Section Of The Questionnaire Included:
“Short term parking on-street in centre of town for shoppers to collect and deliver is vital. Available parking in the centre of Leatherhead should be kept as much as possible to shorter term for shoppers and those visiting on business.”

“Needs to be more long stay parking and incentives to get more shops into the town centre or the place will degenerate quickly.”

“By the time my staff arrive for work there are no street parking spaces available. A reduction in the number of street parking spaces will of course put pressure on the car parks. Obviously more street parking spaces will attract more people to the town and I consider parking is the key factor in reviving trade in Leatherhead.”

“Residents, shoppers and those working in the town all have different car parking requirements. Rather than trying to cater to these needs, the council only seem interested in raising as much money as possible from the business community.”

“If you wish for my customers to support us and other trades please as soon as possible provide for parking.”

“We have many visitors to our office who require both full day and 2-3 hour parking. Local car parking restrictions need to be more closely enforced, e.g. parking on Gravel Hill.”

“The High Street should be re-opened to traffic going one way towards the Letherhead Institute with short term parking along one side of the High Street. The public car park nearest the station floods occasionally and therefore people are reluctant to use it.”

“Leatherhead has nothing to entice shoppers but has a lot of businesses that keep Leatherhead alive, however nobody seems to be catering for people that work here. All the long term parking has been changed to short term which means if my staff can’t park on the street they have to keep leaving the office to top up their parking tickets. Leatherhead will not survive if the businesses move out. Something needs to be done now!.”

“Although we have a small requirement for long-term spaces, the recent closure of Station Road car park for long-term use produced a crisis in parking which meant our workers spent a long time searching for places to park since the Randalls Road car park was filled, not helped by the problems caused by changes to the Station car park (increased parking charge and the fact that a ticket must be purchased from the ticket office). We were seriously considering moving out of Leatherhead, the council constantly talks about insufficient parking but all they seem to do is increase short term spaces at the expense of long term spaces, which is not really supporting employers like ourselves, and is particularly galling when those short term spaces are never used”

“A member of staff is leaving the company to work for another company (based in Guildford). She cited parking problems as one of the reasons for wanting to leave Leatherhead. This is the first time in 17½ years that this has ever been mentioned as a reason for leaving. The closure of the car park opposite the telephone exchange in Bull Hill for long-term parking seems a poor decision. It is now very much under-utilised, and the restrictions on on-street parking will present further problems to our staff.”

“1) More dedicated on-street parking (why is Russell Court double yellow lines?) Why is the lay-by in Church Street double yellow lines? It should be one hour parking bays. 2) Multi-storey car park needed, what about the old Bull Hill site, or build on Randalls Road car park?”

“When we had private allocated parking (short term lease) we still found the public parking in our spaces. We need easy access from North Street/Bridge Street as we take people to and fro on countless occasions.”

Summary: There is clearly a parking space shortfall (which appears to fall into two distinct categories) both in and very close to the town centre. Very short stay parking (on-road bays?) is required for those who need to park extremely briefly in order to run a quick errand; secondly … and very importantly … designated long-term spaces are desperately needed for workers in the town ~ and charges for these spaces must be kept to a minimum, particularly in view of the fact that the proposed CPZ scheme will affect so many workers who currently park on-street, free of charge. The Chamber will continue to lobby on your behalf for these requirements to be met.

Thank you all for your valuable contributions ~ if you’d like to respond or have anything further to add to this debate, please do write to “Soapbox”.

Retailers Forum
The Forum, held on 25th February 2003 at the Englishman’s Castle in Church Street and Chaired by Patrick Crips-Villiers, was open to both Members and non-members and was attended by a gathering of around 22 retailers and businesses. The meeting was addressed by Peter Stait, Town Centre Manager, who gave an update on recent developments in the town centre, and by Mike Lewis of Leatherhead Ahead who outlined the action group’s recent activities. Lucy Quinnell of Fire & Iron Gallery Ltd in Leatherhead, who have been awarded the contract for the decorative ironwork, spoke about the project and had drawings for the meeting to view. Parking in Leatherhead, an extremely important issue, was also discussed. The Chamber hopes more Members can be encouraged to support the Forums and take advantage of the opportunity to exchange information, air views, and share a pleasant and productive hour or so with fellow Members and other local businesses over a glass or two of wine and nibbles. Co-operation is the key to considerable benefits … these meetings are aimed at unlocking those benefits.

Rates Relief Claims
Frustratingly, for those of you waiting to hear, the latest report from Nick is that the high volume of appeals being handled by the District Valuers office continues to delay their action on the Leatherhead claims which are being administered by Hurst Warne on your behalf ~ so it may still be some time before we have any positive news. In the meantime, Nick is monitoring the ongoing works and their impact. For further information, please contact: Nick Smith, Hurst Warne Ltd, 323 Kingston Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7TU, Telephone: 01372 360190.

Members News
New Members
The Chamber extends a warm welcome to our new Members ~ we hope they enjoy the benefits of Membership, and we look forward to meeting them at future Chamber events.

Bleckfield Ltd …
Whose core business focuses on IT support services and maintenance, and also specialising in business and IT security. Contact Dan Mansfield, Managing Director, on: 0870 246 4985 for further information. You can also write to: Devonshire House, 66 Church Street, Leatherhead, KT22 8DP, send an Email: info@bleckfield.com or facsimile: 0871 433 4087 – and the website address is: www.bleckfield.com.

Business to I.T. Consulting Limited …
Based at 16 Milton Avenue, Westcott, Dorking, RH4 3QA ~ an IT consultancy providing IT reviews including business and IT planning, cost reduction and business & system continuity planning. Telephone: 07788 561879 to speak to Graeme Skelly, Director, or Email: graeme.skelly@btoit.co.uk. Further information can be found by visiting the website: www.btoit.co.uk.

Eyes Wide Digital Ltd …
Specialises in fine art Giclee printing, large format inkjet printing for pop-up stands and banner displays, and all fields of photography. The address to write to is: 21 The Street, Fetcham, KT22 9QN. For further information view the website: www.eyeswidedigital.com, telephone/facsimile James Ingle, Director, on: 01372 802420 or send an Email to: info@eyeswidedigital.com.

JBA Public Relations Limited …
Is located at 57 Church Street, Epsom, KT17 4PX, and the number to telephone for Jenny Bailey, Chief Executive Officer, is: 01372 734200. For more information visit the website at: www.jbapr.com, send a facsimile to: 01372 734201, or Email: jenny.bailey@jbapr.com.

Nail Beauty Training Academy Ltd …
A friendly salon, offering nail, beauty and holistic treatments, and also an NVQ training centre for professional nail qualifications. The Proprietor is Liesl Silcock, who can be contacted by telephone or facsimile on: 01372 362636, and the website can be found at: www.nailbeautytrainingacademy.co.uk.

Tax Assist Direct …
Is owned and run by Ross Anderson, who can be contacted by telephone/facsimile on 01737 772577, or in writing to: 1 Furze Place, Furze Hill, Redhill, RH1 1ER. You can also Email: rossanderson@taxassist.co.uk, or view the website at: www.taxassist.co.uk.

‘Making Disability Work FOR You’
8th May 2003
Surrey Association for Visual Impairment (SAVI) and Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD) are holding a joint conference aimed at Surrey businesses entitled ‘Making Disability Work FOR You.’ The emphasis will be on helping businesses to find out how they can gain more customers by improving accessibility to people with disability and understanding their legal obligations. It will also stress to business the support and help available towards employing and retaining disabled people.

Programme:
09.30 Registration and coffee
10.00 Introduction from Chairwoman – Sue Doughty MP
10.05 ‘Making The DDA Work FOR Your Business’ - Caroline Gooding, Disability Rights Commission
10.45 ‘Are Your Premises Accessible?’ - Chris Harrowell, Amey Consulting – Disability Access Advisors
11.30 Coffee
11.50 ‘Financial And Other Support Available To Employers’ - SPEAKER TO BE CONFIRMED, Access To Work
12.30 ‘Customer Access’ - Phillip Davies, ASDA Stores
13.15 Concluding remarks and questions to the panel. The panel to include Alan Sloman (Ushers Syndrome) SAVI employee, and Kay Parfitt (deaf) RAD employee.
13.30 Lunch and displays

Date: Thursday 8th May 2003 09.30 am – 13.30
Venue: Dorking Halls, Reigate Road, Dorking, Surrey
Cost: £55 per person to include refreshments and lunch
For further details contact: Maddy Sparrow, Appeals Co-ordinator
Surrey Association for Visual Impairment
Rentwood, School Lane, Fetcham, Surrey KT22 9JX
Tel: 01372 377701 or Email: msparrow@sa-vi.org.uk

Business Card Swap Shop
Held on 27th March, and attracting a gathering of 25 Members, The Swap Shop was held at Metro Café, The Theatre, Leatherhead. A free Members-only function, designed as an opportunity for networking with and getting to know fellow Members, the Swap Shop ran from 5.15 to around 7.30 – making it convenient for ‘popping-in’ after work. Beverages and a finger buffet were laid on by Karen Parry, Proprietor of Metro Café. As an ice-breaker, each Member received a ‘Who’s Who’ on arrival which included details of personal interests as well as business information ~ and this idea was well received, so will be used again at future Swap Shops. Nick Hoskins, MD of Corporate Office Supplies, supplied a free prize draw during the evening, and the lucky winners were: Dan Mansfield of Bleckfield Ltd (a box of quality copy paper), Ian Ingle of Eyes Wide Digital Ltd (Dorincourt Bone China Mug) and Melodie Hunt of Capricorn Wordprocessing Bureau (Post-it Z-Notes & Dispenser) ~ “thank you”, Nick ! We hope that everyone who came along enjoyed the event and found it of value in forming new business relationships and renewing past acquaintance.

Letters to the Editor
Soapbox: Have your say ! How can the Chamber help you and your business? How can we best represent your interests within the local business community? We welcome your feedback. Or maybe you’d like to share other news, business tips or thoughts with your fellow Members.

Spotlight: An opportunity to publicise your organisation to the Membership. Two profiles will be presented in each Newsletter, copy approximately 250 words. Contributions are published in order of receipt.
Please do let’s hear from you in time for the MAY 2003 NEWSLETTER

Soapbox
You’ve all fallen very quiet again !

Spotlight
EXPATRIATE TAX ADVISORY SERVICE
Established in 1995, Expatriate Tax Advisory Service is a tax practice which advises individuals and their employers, if appropriate, on UK and US tax and social security matters. This includes the preparation of both UK and US Federal and State individual income tax returns, and as a result, many of our clients are either US citizens or US green card holders.

Karen Worcester has been working with expatriate tax clients since 1980, and trained with Coopers & Lybrand in London. Expatriate Tax Advisory Service is probably unique in Surrey as it offers some of the specialised skills usually associated with a major international firm, together with a high level of personal attention and competitive fees.

Clients may need our advice and tax preparation services as a result of changes including an assignment to the UK from the US or other countries, or they may be seconded from the UK to work in the USA and elsewhere abroad. Because our skills are specific to personal tax work, our clients also include UK and overseas nationals who continue to live in the UK.

Current clients include employees of BNP Paribas, Cisco, Citigroup, CSFB, eBay, The Economist, King’s College - London, Latham & Watkins, McKinsey, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Reuters, TOMY and UBS Warburg, as well as self employed and high net worth individuals.

To find out if we can be of service to you, and for an initial discussion of your needs, please call
Karen Worcester on 01306 731012, or
write to Expatriate Tax Advisory Service,
Deerleap Cottage, Sutton Place, Abinger Hammer, Surrey RH5 6RL, or
email: karen@expatriatetax.co.uk

FRASCATI RESTAURANT
Ten years ago Arnaldo Giardino answered an advertisement placed by Gino Facchinetti "Partners wanted for joint restaurant venture"
Gino was looking for a person with similar background and confident ideas and, as chance would have it, his search was at an end. Arnaldo and Gino became partners at FRASCATI.

They were soon to discover the striking comparison between their lives to date ~ with both of them having previously owned restaurants in the same area (Kent), being the same age to within one year, and having grown up only half a mile from one another in Torino, Italy.

With luck now surely on their side, and an agreed recipe for success, the new partners revealed their separate choices for the new venture - only to find that the two minds were again thinking alike, as both had decided on the restaurant now known as FRASCATI at Mickleham. With an extensive menu offering fine quality traditional Italian dishes and warm, welcoming service, FRASCATI was quickly established as the place to eat and, three years later, the people of Chobham and surrounding area were in luck with the opening of FRASCATI 2.

Today, ten years after the ‘birth’ of FRASCATI at Mickleham and then FRASCATI 2 in Chobham, Gino has retired and Pepe, our Manager at Mickleham, has taken over the day to day running of the business ~ we are still going strong, serving fine quality food and wines to satisfy the most discerning diner, in tasteful surroundings and with a traditional Italian atmosphere.

Whether dinner for two, corporate entertaining, birthday parties or the Christmas dinner, Arnaldo and Pepe offer you excellent service at FRASCATI and FRASCATI 2.

A LA CARTE AND SPECIALITY MENU
Open 6½ days & evenings per week ~ closed on Sunday evening
SET MENU LUNCH £10.50
MONDAY TO SUNDAY
12noon to 2.00pm
Three Courses: STARTER & MAIN COURSE & SWEET
SET MENU DINNER £12.50
MONDAY TO FRIDAY
6.30pm to 11.00pm
Two Courses: either STARTER & MAIN COURSE or MAIN COURSE & SWEET
For Dessert: A Choice from the sweet trolley £2.50 EXRA

London Road, Mickleham, Surrey RH5 6EH ~ Telephone: 01372 373950
Station Road, Chobham, Surrey GU24 8AQ ~ Telephone: 01276 858114

Website: www.frascati.co.uk