About SARA:

Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association (SARA) was formed in 1933 so that the people of Stoneleigh could have a non-political voice on Epsom & Ewell Borough Council.

Our five Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association councillors are part of the majority group of independent Residents' Association councillors that lead your Borough Council.

Your Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association ward councillors will always be pleased to hear from you on any local government matter that you may require their help and assistance with. (See their contact details on the Councillors page).

Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association (SARA) believes that :

• Local people, who do not have a political party agenda to fulfill should make local decisions, about local issues.
• You, the resident should be able to tell us what concerns and affects you and your Residents' Association and elected RA Councillors will do their best to advise and represent you.
• Residents should be kept informed about what is happening in Stoneleigh and the rest of the borough. To keep residents in touch with local matters, Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association publishes a quarterly magazine -'The Resident' - which is distributed free of charge to all members of the association.

We can't promise that you will always get the result that you want! Our Borough Council does not have the power over issues managed by Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council - such as transport, roads and schools, or by central government such as housing and building policy - but we can lobby and speak on your behalf.

Stoneleigh and Auriol RA has the highest membership of any RA in the borough, with a combined membership in Stoneleigh and Auriol Wards totalling nearly three thousand households. Stoneleigh and Auriol RA sponsors five borough councillors and jointly sponsors two county councillors. Our members are well served by these hard working councillors, backed by a team of loyal and diligent officers of the General Committee and zone representatives.  

Stoneleigh RA, as it was then, played a significant role in many local campaigns such as saving Stoneleigh Library from closure, the retention of the K9 bus route, and preventing the demolition of the Stoneleigh Inn for redevelopment into a block of flats. More recently, it supported the successful campaign to prevent the Cherry Orchard Nursery Site green space adjacent to Nonsuch Park being leased to a private developer to build a private leisure complex. 

At the Epsom & Ewell Borough Council Election on Thursday 3rd May 2007, all five Stoneleigh Ward and Auriol Ward councillors were returned to office. This was a magnificent effort by our candidates - who canvassed every household in their respective wards - and was supported by the hard work of the By-Election Sub-Committee members who organised our election literature and all our Zone Representatives who delivered it. Special thanks must go to Mike Sampson, who carried out the duties of Election Agent to all five candidates with impeccable efficiency. All our re-elected Residents' Association councillors increased their percentage share of the vote but the most remarkable result was achieved in Stoneleigh Ward, where all three elected SARA councillors received more than TWICE as many votes as their nearest political party opponents! 

We would like to thank everyone who voted for our candidates and especially those members of the Association in Stoneleigh Ward who did so in response to my letter asking for their support. All SARA councillors will continue to resist cuts in services at Epsom Hospital and they will carry on the fight to prevent the sale by Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council of the Nonsuch Park Mansion House. SARA will continue to press for the earliest return of operational control of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House to the trusted and independent Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee because, until this happens, the future of the Park and House will not be secure.

The Membership and Publications Sub-Committee produces our highly-regarded quarterly magazine, ‘The Resident’, which is distributed  by our zone representatives to all member households.

Membership of the Association is available to all residents in Stoneleigh and Auriol Wards. An annual subscription, per household, costs just £2.00 and we are always especially pleased to welcome new members to the Association. (To join, simply contact Mr Ken Shute on 020 8224 2796 if you live in Stoneleigh Ward, or Mr Mike Sampson on 020 8393 7880 if you live in Auriol Ward).

2005 was a year of tremendous change for the Association. At the Annual General Meeting in April 2005, members approved a change of name for the Association. Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association - as we are now known - is the only name change the Association has had in its proud history of serving the people of Stoneleigh for nearly three-quarters of a century. Auriol Ward came into existence in 1976, as a result of boundary changes made by the Boundaries Commission and originally comprised of roads that were served by three different Resident Associations, Stoneleigh RA (as it was then), Ewell Court RA and Cuddington RA.

Prior to the 2003 borough council elections, the Boundaries Commission made further electoral boundary changes, including the removal of one Auriol Ward council seat. As a result of these changes, Auriol Ward now consists entirely of roads served by Stoneleigh Residents’ Association and is no longer shared between the three associations. It was therefore a very appropriate decision to recognize this by incorporating the Auriol name into that of the Stoneleigh association.

The other major change concerned the adoption of a new constitution at the 2005 AGM. There had been no substantive change to the rules for more than forty-seven years but we now have a new constitution with rules that accurately reflect the many social and legislative changes that have occurred during almost half a century.

Neighbourhood Watch plays a very real part in preventing crime, provides additional peace of mind and fosters a sense of community involvement. Did you know that many insurance companies offer reduced premiums to householders who live in a designated Neighbourhood Watch area? To set up a scheme requires an Area Co-ordinator – if you are a Stoneleigh resident and you would be willing to volunteer a few hours a month to help us get Neighbourhood Watch up and running in Stoneleigh Ward, please drop me a line or phone me as soon as possible. In Auriol Ward, we need residents to become Neighbourhood Watch Street Co-ordinators and our Auriol Ward Area Co-ordinator, Mrs Anneke Simms (020 8393 4858), would be delighted to hear from you.