SARA's Successful Campaign to Save Nonsuch Mansion House - Latest News:

NONSUCH MANSION HOUSE - LEASE ARRANGEMENTS TO BE CONCLUDED "OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS":
Following mounting concerns at the delay in signing the 125-year lease with Surrey County Council for Nonsuch Park and Mansion House and the conclusion of negotiations between Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC) and their preferred bidder for the catering contract at the Mansion House, Mr David Smith, Clerk to the JMC, has issued the following statement to SARA:
At the JMC meeting on 1st October 2008, the terms of the Head Lease from Surrey County Council, the Sub-Lease to the caterers and the Management Contract with the caterer were all agreed and the JMC formally asked the two Borough Councils to complete those documents. We would anticipate doing so over the next few weeks. 

Concerns had been raised following the JMC's failure to conclude the signing of the lease agreed with Surrey County Council for Nonsuch Park and Mansion House. The forecasted three-month timescale from 25th March 2008 for the lease to be signed has already been exceeded by more than three months. There was widespread speculation that unreasonable demands being made by the preferred bidder for the Mansion House catering contract were the primary cause of the delay. 

Speculation over the JMC's failure to conclude negotiations with the preferred bidder was highlighted in a report that appeared in the Epsom Post on 3rd September 2008, regarding alleged demands being made by the preferred bidder for the catering contract at the Mansion House. The alleged demands include external lighting of the House and walled gardens, restricted public access to certain parts of the Park and the lifting of the fireworks ban. Mr David Smith, Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC) has provided me with a written assurance that the JMC remains committed to ensuring the widest possible public access to all parts of the Park. In response to my letter, Mr Smith replied to me on 12th July 2008, saying, "... you raised the question of the chosen caterer seeking permission to close the walled gardens for private events. As I said to you the other day, this has never been the case and would certainly not be agreed by the JMC. The caterers'  proposal is that they be allowed to rope off a part of the gardens immediately adjoining the house to use as overflow for events and, in principle, the JMC has agreed this. The public would still be able to access the walled gardens through the gate and to wander freely around most of the garden." 

The ban on fireworks and pyrotechnic displays was made clear to all bidders during the tendering process and Mr Smith has confirmed that the fireworks ban will remain in force. In the same letter, Mr Smith wrote, "I am pleased to be able to tell you that with regard to the fireworks the JMC, in the light of yours and other representations, has reconsidered the informal view it expressed at the previous meeting and decided to confirm the existing ban. To read the article in the Epsom Post, click here > Mansion House: Press News and to read the exchange of correspondence with Mr Smith, click here >  Mansion House: Latest News and scroll down to 12th July 2008. 

Nonsuch Mansion House:

SAVED BY SARA!

LATEST NEWS - 17th August 2008:

SARA FORCES SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL TO END MANSION HOUSE SECRECY:
During SARA's successful fourteen-month campaign to save Nonsuch Mansion House, SARA made repeated requests to Councillor Nick Skellett, the leader of Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council (SCC), for the secret Bidwells Options Report to be made public - all of which were refused. SARA has now succeeded in forcing Surrey County Council to place the Options Report in the public domain. SARA has achieved this success by invoking the Freedom of Information Act, leaving the County Council with no choice but to furnish SARA with a copy of the secret report it commissioned from a firm of East Anglian estate agents, at a staggering cost of £26,216.00. 

Although SCC claims that it cannot provide accurate total costs, it has been estimated conservatively that - including officer time and expenses - the actual total cost to the tax-payer of Surrey County Council's unnecessary and unwarranted interference in the management of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House is in excess of £100,000.00. (Pictured above: SARA's Chairman, Bill Slaughter, at Nonsuch Mansion House, with the secret Options Report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act).

The details contained in the report clearly confirm SARA's long-stated contention that all the time Surrey County Council was claiming that the Mansion House would not be sold for commercial development, the County Council was planning to do the exact opposite and sell off the Mansion House and its six acres of walled gardens. It is therefore easy to understand why Surrey County Council made such desperate attempts to keep the Options Report secret. The Options Report - which runs to more than 100 pages -  is too large a document to be published in full on this website. However, SARA's success means that any member of the public can now apply to receive a copy of the hitherto secret report, using the Freedom of Information Act. For full details of SARA's successful campaign to save the Nonsuch Mansion House, click here > Mansion House: What they said.

12th July 2008: 

NONSUCH PARK AND MANSION HOUSE: It is hoped that the few remaining details will be finalised very shortly and the 125-year lease from Surrey County Council should be signed by all three councils next month. However concerns have been raised that the preferred bidder for the Mansion House catering contract has submitted a request for a significant number of changes to be allowed, if the bid is successful. 

The principal concern is a request to be able to land helicopters in the Park. This could have a devastating effect on wildlife, as well as disturbing the quiet enjoyment of visitors to the Park. Considerable disturbance would be caused to residents whose properties lie adjacent or close to the park. The same disruption would occur if pyrotechnic displays were to be allowed. Many residents take the view that fireworks are entirely unsuited to the environs of the Park and would impact severely on the protection of wildlife. 

I had a very useful meeting last week with Mr David Smith, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council's Chief Executive and Clerk of the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee. I handed Mr Smith a letter placing our concerns on record, which he very kindly tabled at the JMC meeting on 10th July. I feel sure that everyone who shares our concern to preserve the peaceful ambience of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House will be reassured by the reply (below) that I received from Mr Smith, following the JMC meeting:

 

28th May 2008: 

EPSOM POST EXPOSES COUNTY COUNCIL'S SECRECY ON MANSION HOUSE COSTS:
An excellent and factually accurate article by Joan Mulcaster in the Epsom Post has exposed the secrecy that Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council continues to maintain over exactly how much taxpayers’ money it spent on trying to sell Nonsuch Mansion House to developers. To read the article, click here > Mansion House – Press News.

It is now ‘conservatively’ estimated that the total costs to date are actually in excess of £400,000 and still rising, once officer time and expenses are factored in and added to the £180,000 the council was forced to pay to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee for all the function business lost since the county council seized control of Nonsuch Park and closed the Mansion House.

Readers will note that SCC has “declined to comment” on SARA’s allegation that the actual costs involved were in excess of £100,000. In the past, Surrey County Council has been quick to deny that figure, claiming it had ‘only’ paid out £26,216 of taxpayers money to a firm of estate agents for an Options Review! Yet, repeated requests – including the latest one under the Freedom of Information Act – for the full costs to be revealed, have all failed. Readers can be justified in concluding that the county council would have been very quick indeed to deny SARA’s allegation - if it had been false!

In refusing the request under the Freedom of Information Act, SCC’s Freedom of Information Officer wrote, “You also requested a full breakdown of all costs incurred in respect of the Options Review – including officer time and expenses – from 1st December 2006 up to and including the Officer Report to the Executive on 25th March 2008. Surrey County Council does not hold this information as officer time is not recorded and costed to specific activities/projects.” (To see full response, scroll down to 31st April 2008).

This begs a fascinating question. If the county council is really telling the truth and cannot determine costs and expenditure incurred (an appalling admission in itself!), how could it have repeatedly denied SARA’s factual comment that costs had exceeded £100,000? Questions, on a post-card, please, to: Cllr Nick Skellett, Conservative Leader of Surrey County Council…. 

31st April 2008: 

Surrey County Council's response to SARA's information request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

 

31st March 2008: 

Following SCC Leader Nick Skellett's continued refusal to publish the secret Bidwells Option Report, SARA has now formally applied to SCC for a copy of the Bidwells Options Report (excluding any sensitive information regarding tenderer names and tender values) to be made public under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, together with a disclosure of the true cost of commissioning the report - including officer time and expenses. 

SARA will press Mr Richard Shaw, the Chief Executive of Surrey County Council, to stop wasting time and taxpayer's money and cease immediately the covert internal witch-hunt to discover the identity of the high-ranking county council officer who provided SARA with a copy of the Bidwells Option Report. The action by the senior officer concerned, at great personal career risk, enabled SARA to make public the planned intentions of Surrey County Council to sell-off the Mansion House for commercial development – which it had repeatedly denied it was attempting to do.

SARA APPLIES TO SCC, UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, FOR A COPY OF THE BIDWELLS OPTIONS REPORT AND FULL COSTS DISCLOSURE: 

 

25th March 2008:

SARA made the following successful written submission, on the 25th March 2008, to the Executive meeting of Surrey County Council at County Hall:

To: Members of the Executive, Surrey County Council.

25th March 2008

NONSUCH PARK, EWELL

Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA) calls upon the Executive to take notice of SARA’s petition containing 4,760 signatures, which urges Surrey County Council to safeguard the long term of future of Nonsuch Park and Mansion House by approving the grant of a 125-year lease of land within Nonsuch Park to the Borough Council of Epsom & Ewell and the London Borough of Sutton jointly, in accordance with Recommendation (a) in the Officer Report to Executive dated 25th March 2008. The Executive is also asked to take notice that SARA’s petition calls upon Surrey County Council to expedite completion of the lease at the earliest possible opportunity.

SARA also calls upon the Executive to approve the one-off special financial contribution to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee of £125,000, in accordance with Recommendation (b) in the Officer Report to Executive dated 25th March 2008.

SARA calls upon the Executive to examine whether or not adequate provision has been made in the lease for the Mansion House to be comprehensively insured, not just in respect of public liability but also against damage or total loss.

In the interest of transparency, SARA also calls upon the Executive to:

1                    Publish in full the Options Report commissioned from Messrs Bidwells (excluding the names of tenderers and tender values).

2                    Place on public record all costs incurred in relation to the commissioning of the Options Report, including Officer time and expenses, in addition to the fees paid to Messrs Bidwells.

3                    Instruct the Chief Executive Officer to cease immediately the current internal investigation into discovering the identity of the senior officer who, out of a deep and honourable concern for the future of the Mansion House, provided SARA with a copy of the Options Report.

                ______________________________________________

Following the Executive’s decision to grant the lease, Bill Slaughter, the Chairman of SARA, issued the following Press Statement:

PRESS STATEMENT BY MR BILL SLAUGHTER, SARA CHAIRMAN:

“Today’s unanimous decision by Surrey County Council’s Executive to grant a 125-year lease of Nonsuch Park and Nonsuch Mansion House jointly to Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton brings to a successful conclusion the fourteen-month long campaign by Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA) to save the Grade II*-listed Nonsuch Mansion House from being sold off for commercial development by the Conservative-controlled county council.

In a radio interview last week, Conservative County Councillor Ian Lake, who masterminded the planned Mansion House sell-off, dismissed SARA’s campaign to save the Mansion House as being, “All heat and light.” Well, after a 14-month campaign by SARA, Surrey County Council’s Executive has finally felt the heat and seen the light.        

In December 2006, Surrey County Council’s actions caused huge concern to thousands of people who care passionately about Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House when it arbitrarily seized operational control and management of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House from the widely-respected and trusted Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee. Those fears were expressed in a petition organized by SARA and signed by almost five thousand people, who called upon the Executive to grant a 125-year lease of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House to the two local boroughs as soon as possible.

Last year, the Executive spent in excess of £100,000 commissioning a secret report - which it is still refusing to make public - from a firm of East Anglian estate agents who were briefed to provide the best possible sale options for the Mansion House, including selling the Mansion House and its 6-acre walled gardens to a private developer for conversion into luxury flats, a corporate head office, or luxury hotel at a net profit in excess of £1.25-1.75 million. No regard was paid to the inevitable and permanent loss of public access to this much-loved listed building and its beautiful grounds.

However, the strength of local feeling against these proposals was recognized by the leader of Surrey County Council and Chairman of the Executive, Councillor Nick Skellett, who received SARA’s petition containing 4,760 signatures at today’s Executive meeting from Residents’ Association Councillor Nigel Petrie MBE, the county councillor for Epsom and Ewell North East Division. Councillor Skellett paid tribute to SARA’s campaign and said that SARA’s petition was “impressive”, adding that the petition was, “one of the largest ever received by the County Council.”

SARA is tremendously grateful to everyone who has supported and assisted the campaign, especially all those who attended SARA’s public meeting last October and the near 5,000 people who signed SARA’s petition. Some people not only signed the petition themselves but even organised many additional signatures as well. It is a testament to just how deeply people care about safeguarding the future of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House. They are the real heroes. Neither must we forget to thank another special hero - the high-ranking county council officer who leaked the secret report to SARA, at the personal risk of immediate dismissal.

SARA extends special thanks to Mr David Smith, Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee and Chief Executive of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council. It was David Smith’s dogged determination to secure a just and satisfactory conclusion, combined with hours of skilled negotiation and attention to written detail, that eventually won the day in getting viable lease terms agreed and we have much to thank him for.

SARA gratefully acknowledges the fact that our local press provided sustained and factual coverage of the Mansion House issue throughout the campaign. Without such press coverage thousands of people would not have been aware of the County Council’s proposals and would have had no chance to register their objections to them.

There is no doubt whatsoever that without SARA’s campaign and the support it received from thousands of people who care about Nonsuch Park, the Mansion House would by now have been sold off by the County Council and converted into luxury flats, offices or a hotel, resulting in public access to the house and its walled gardens being lost forever.”

Bill Slaughter
Chairman
Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA)  

 

COUNTY COUNCIL LEADER, NICK SKELLETT (pictured left), RECEIVED THE SARA PETITION AT THE EXECUTIVE MEETING AND PRAISED THE PETITION, CALLING IT ‘IMPRESSIVE’ AND SAYING THAT, “IT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST EVERY RECEIVED BY THE COUNCIL.” CLLR SKELLETT ALSO PRAISED SARA’S WORDING OF THE PETITION, SAYING THAT, “IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER WORDED IF THE EXECUTIVE ITSELF HAD WRITTEN IT.”

On 25th March, Surrey County Council’s Executive Committee voted unanimously to grant a 125-year lease of Nonsuch Park and Nonsuch Mansion House jointly to Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton, bringing to a successful conclusion the fourteen-month long campaign by Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA) to save the Grade II*-listed Nonsuch Mansion House from being sold off for commercial development by the Conservative-controlled county council.

CONSERVATIVE COUNTY COUNCILLOR BEHIND THE PLANNED MANSION HOUSE SELL-OFF CONTEMPTUOUSLY DISMISSES SARA’S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE MANSION HOUSE AS, “ALL HEAT AND LIGHT.”

In a live interview on Southern Counties Radio on Wednesday 19th March 2008, Ian Lake (pictured above), the Conservative County Councillor who was the ‘mastermind’ behind Surrey County Council’s planned sale of Nonsuch Mansion House for commercial development, dismissed SARA's Campaign to save the Mansion House as, “all heat and light.”

In the same live interview, Mr Bill Slaughter, the SARA Chairman, condemned Cllr Lake ’s contempt for all those who are justifiably concerned for the future of the Mansion House, saying that it was exactly what he would have expected from Cllr Lake. Mr Slaughter went on to highlight the fact that, on the Mansion House issue, the County Council had a history of saying one thing and then doing the opposite.

Bill Slaughter pointed out that after giving public assurances last February that the Mansion House would be safe, the Executive went ahead and commissioned a secret report from a firm of East-Anglian estate agents on how to maximise the sale potential of the Mansion House, which the County Council was hoping to sell for a profit of more than £1.25million. Mr Slaughter also pointed out to listeners that the County Council is still refusing to make the secret report public and praised the high-ranking county council officer who leaked it to SARA.

25th March 2008: 

NONSUCH MANSION HOUSE SAVED BY SARA!
Following a 14-month campaign by SARA to save Nonsuch Mansion House from being sold off for commercial development by Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council, the County Council’s Executive unanimously agreed at the Executive meeting on 25th March 2008 to lease Nonsuch Park and Nonsuch Mansion House to Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton. (SARA Chairman, Bill Slaughter, pictured at the Mansion House - photo courtesy of www.garethharmer.com).  

Surrey County Council's decision followed the most intense campaign ever undertaken by Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA). During the last twelve months SARA has raised two petitions and hosted a public meeting opposing the sale of the Mansion House, urging the SCC Executive to instead safeguard the future of the Mansion House by granting a long lease of Nonsuch Park and all ancillary buildings therein, to the two local boroughs. 

The Heads of Terms of the 125-year lease have now been agreed by Surrey County Council with Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and London Borough of Sutton. Lawyers from all three councils will now draw up the lease, within the next three months. This will ensure that the day-to-day management and operational control of the Park and House can be returned to the widely trusted and independent Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC), which is comprised of representatives from both boroughs. To read SARA’s written submission to the Executive and Press Statement issued immediately following the Executive meeting on 25th March 2008, scroll further down this page. To read the latest press news on Nonsuch Mansion House, click here> Mansion House: Press News.    

You can read comments from many of the people involved in securing the future of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House by clicking here > Mansion House: What they said.

There are too many people to be thanked individually for the important parts that they have played in SARA’s successful campaign, but we thank them all. However, special thanks must go to Mr David Smith, Chief Executive of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC). David Smith has worked tirelessly and with dogged determination, to secure beneficial lease terms and the financial settlement from Surrey County Council. Our thanks also go to County Councillor Nigel Petrie MBE, the RA county councillor for Epsom & Ewell North East Division, for the many hours he spent with fellow county councillors, negotiating the case for Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House. We also send thanks to the Epsom Post and Epsom Guardian for their excellent coverage of the Mansion House issue and we record our grateful thanks to the senior county council officer we cannot name who, at great personal career risk, provided SARA with a copy of SCC's secret Options Report. 

Most of all, we send our sincerest thanks to every person who signed SARA’s petition, some of whom also very kindly organised many additional signatures. YOU are the real heroes, each and every one of you, because EVERY SIGNATURE on our petition served to convince the Executive just how many – and how much – people care about the future of the Mansion House, its 6-acre walled gardens and the never-changing beauty and tranquillity of Nonsuch Park itself.

I have been humbled and awe-struck by the very great efforts that so many people have put in to supporting our successful campaign and for the many messages of thanks for it. The campaign would not have succeeded without your involvement – THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ONE AND ALL.

Bill Slaughter, Chairman. 

 

SARA’s petition to Save the Mansion House attracted 4,760 signatures – a truly remarkable achievement! The petition was presented to the Executive of Surrey County Council on 25th March 2008 by County Councillor Nigel Petrie MBE, our Residents’ Association county councillor for Epsom and Ewell North East division. Nigel Petrie has worked diligently and constantly throughout the last fourteen months, engaging in numerous discussions with county officers and fellow county councillors, making and supporting the case for granting the lease. 

SARA’s petition urged Surrey County Council to honour its stated commitment to lease Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House to the Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and London Borough of Sutton, in order to safeguard the long term future of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House. The petition got under way at the "Herald of Spring" event at Bourne Hall on the 8th and 9th of March 2008, where almost 2,000 people signed it. One of the first people to sign SARA's petition was the Worshipful Mayor of Epsom & Ewell, Councillor Jean Steer, pictured left.  

Thousands more signatures were added following publication of the petition form in 'The Resident', SARA's quarterly magazine, as well as on this website.  Many people not only signed SARA's petition themselves, but also organised additional signatures and some people even collected several hundred more. To each and every person who signed SARA's petition, we send our most grateful thanks.

For the latest press news, click here > Mansion House: Press News. 

You can also read all about the public meeting that SARA hosted at Bourne Hall on Monday 8th October 2007 - by clicking here > Mansion House: Public Meeting. Letters to the county council, from residents who attended SARA's public meeting, can be viewed by clicking here > Mansion House: Letters to SCC.

20th March 2008:

Pictures from SARA's petition signing event at Bourne Hall on 8th and 9th March 2008:

SARA's message is clear for all to see.

SARA's team of volunteers swing into action as soon as the doors open.

Before long, the queues to sign the petition were building up.

The Mayor of Epsom & Ewell, Councillor Jean Steer, signs the SARA petition
and shares a joke with SARA's Chairman, Bill Slaughter.

Stoneleigh Ward RA Councillor, Alan Winkworth, secures another signature.

The President of Cuddington RA, Mr Ken Robinson, and Mrs Sheila Robinson sign the petition.


Throughout the weekend, more and more people, including Epsom & Ewell MP,
Chris Grayling (pictured below), queued up to sign SARA's new petition.

 

16th February 2008:

The Surrey County Council Executive is due to decide the fate of Nonsuch Mansion House when it meets on 25th March 2008 at 2.00pm. The County Council is currently refusing to give assurances about financial compensation that became necessary when it arbitrarily snatched the operational control and management of Nonsuch Park away from the JMC early in 2007.

9th February 2008:

CONCERN IS GROWING THAT CONSERVATIVE-CONTROLLED SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL WILL GO BACK ON ITS MUCH-PUBLICISED AGREEMENT TO LEASE NONSUCH PARK AND MANSION HOUSE TO THE JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE  

Concern is growing that, despite giving an undertaking to lease Nonsuch Park and Nonsuch Mansion House to the widely trusted and respected Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC), Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council may go back on its word and resurrect its original plan to sell off the Mansion House and walled gardens. Late last year, SCC agreed to lease the Park and Mansion House to the JMC following the 10- month long campaign mounted by SARA to save the Grade 2*-listed Nonsuch Park Mansion House from being sold off by the County Council for commercial development. To read press reports on the latest situation, click here> Press News.

Stoneleigh Ward RA Councillor, Alan Winkworth, who chairs the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee, has issued the following statement: "Whilst some progress had been made we are not out of the woods yet and until we are there is always the possibility that we may not get what we want.

I am disappointed that Surrey County Council is dragging its heels, despite the assurances it gave. This unwarranted and inexcusable delay could lead to further financial problems for the future of Nonsuch Park and the Nonsuch Mansion House."

SARA Chairman, Bill Slaughter, commenting on the delay in agreeing the terms of the lease to the JMC said, "I hope very much that this impasse, which the County Council has caused, is only temporary and rumours that the County Council is about to renege on its agreement to lease Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House to the JMC will prove unfounded. There will be a huge outcry if, after all the campaigning against Surrey County Council's original plan to sell off the Mansion House and walled gardens for commercial development, SCC goes back on its word and attempts to do so after all. 

In the present uncertainty it is even less surprising that the County Council is still refusing to make public the secret Options Report it commissioned last year from a firm of East Anglian estate agents. If the County Council does not proceed swiftly to agreeing the lease, SARA will not hesitate to release further extracts from the secret report, a copy of which was provided to SARA by a very senior county council officer who had been appalled by Surrey County Council's actions. The report contains details of certain restrictive covenants on the sale of the Mansion House and suggestions as to how these might be circumvented." 

25th November 2007:

SCC LEADER’S ACCUSATION OF “RUMOUR MONGERING” REJECTED


In a written response to the letter dated 18th October 2007 (see Stop Press below) from Bill Slaughter, Chairman of Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA), Conservative Councillor Nick Skellett, Leader of Surrey County Council, has accused SARA of “rumour mongering” – a claim strongly denied by the Association’s Chairman.

Bill Slaughter wrote to the County Council Leader urging him to call off the ‘witch hunt’ being undertaken by the Council to discover the identity of the senior officer who provided SARA with a copy of the secret ‘options report’ the Council had commissioned from Bidwells - a firm of East Anglian estate agents. 

In the same letter, Bill Slaughter again asked the SCC Leader to place the report in the public domain. The report – which Surrey County Council is still refusing to make public - dealt with maximizing the profit that the Conservative-controlled County Council could achieve from selling off the Nonsuch Mansion House for commercial development. Extracts from the options report were later published on the SARA website and in the local press.

Cllr Skellett replied on the 31st October, expressing concern about the number of rumours circulating, citing what he called the “incorrect allegation” that Surrey County Council had spent £100,000 on the Bidwells options report. Cllr Skellett also wrote that, “Claims of a “witch hunt” against officers* fall into the same category of rumour mongering” and then attempted to besmirch the integrity of the information SARA had received from the one senior officer concerned, adding that “…I suggest you view with caution any more information you receive from the source you quote in your interview with the Epsom Guardian.”

Yet, despite his comments, Cllr Skellett refused to give an assurance that the witch hunt to discover the identity of the senior officer who had provided SARA with a copy of the report would be terminated immediately, as had been requested by Bill Slaughter. Cllr Skellett appeared to actually confirm the witch hunt is still on-going, with a comment in his letter that, “I cannot however give you any assurances regarding the discipline of council staff as this is the responsibility of the Chief Executive and members are expressly required to stand clear of such issues.”

* NOTE: Cllr Skellett’s use of the word “officers” is misleading and inaccurate. Only one officer – a very senior one – is the subject of the covert internal investigation.

Commenting on Cllr Skellett’s letter, Bill Slaughter issued the following statement:

Cllr Skellett’s response to my letter was disappointing, to put it mildly, but entirely expected. Despite receiving umpteen letters urging him to make the Bidwells report public, Cllr Skellett still refuses to do so. 

In response to letters sent to him following the SARA Public Meeting, Cllr Skellett has not replied personally but has left it to Mr Keith Barker of SCC’s Estates Planning & Management Department, to reply. Mr Barker has stated that, "the total cost of the report is less than £25,000.” This is entirely incorrect and extremely devious because it does not include the ‘hidden’ costs of the time SCC officers spent on dealing with commissioning the report, giving briefings and attending on and off-site meetings with Bidwells, Council members such as Cllr Skellett and Cllr Ian Lake, the Borough Councils and JMC representatives. I have written to Mr Barker asking him to provide full details of these hidden costs – which, when and if revealed, will prove that the actual total costs to date do indeed run to around £100,000. Mr Barker has failed to reply. 

In the same letters, Mr Barker has also written that the secret report cannot be made public because, “…to release the report would be a clear breach of commercial confidentiality, because it contains detailed financial information and analysis of two bids (at least one of which is still live) which were put forward during the JMC’s original marketing exercise.” 

This is complete and utter nonsense and both Mr Barker and Cllr Skellett know this. It is simply an attempt to hoodwink the public into accepting that this is a valid reason for the report being kept secret. It is no such thing – all that is required to maintain commercial confidentiality is for the names of those tenderers and the amounts bid to be obscured from the report before publication - that is standard practice in such a situation. 

However, the Conservative-controlled County Council has somewhat pathetically tried to create a smokescreen to cover up the real reason why they are preventing members of the public from having full access to the report, namely that it proves their intention all along was to sell off the Mansion House, against the wishes of thousands of local residents, for a profit in excess of £1.25 million – something they continue to deny. Whatever happened to ‘transparent’ local government?

I therefore call, yet again, on Cllr Skellett to:
1: Request the Chief Executive to call off the witch hunt immediately
2: Act openly, if Surrey County Council has nothing to hide, by publishing the Bidwells Report forthwith - minus the sensitive tender information 
3: Reveal the full costs incurred to date in the then proposed sell-off, including officer time spent on the project and; 
4: Apologise for stating, incorrectly, that SARA has engaged in “rumour mongering” – simply because SARA has published facts that Surrey County Council was - and still is - unwilling to reveal. 

Bill Slaughter, Chairman, Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA) 
25th November 2007.

IMPORTANT NEWS:

Following the well-attended Public Meeting hosted by SARA at Bourne Hall on 8th October 2007, Surrey County Council (SCC) has now entered into talks with the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC), and representatives from Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton.

A meeting was held on 22nd October, during which the terms of a 125 year lease from the County Council to the JMC was discussed. The meeting included a discussion about the provision of a financial contribution by SCC, to cover the loss of revenue arising from SCC’s actions in January this year. Following the meeting, Mr David Smith LLB, Chief Executive of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee, very kindly provided the undernoted statement to SARA:

Mr David Smith’s Statement: 

At the meeting on 22 October, Surrey County Council confirmed their offer of a 125 year lease at a peppercorn rent and made it clear that once this lease was agreed they intended to leave the future management of the Park to the Joint Management Committee, subject only to the general principles which would be set out in the lease relating to the protection of the Park, access for local residents and the continued maintenance of the Mansion House. Borough Council members welcomed the offer but made it clear that for the lease to be viable they needed further financial contributions from the County both in this year and next to cover the losses incurred by the delay in letting a new contract for use of the Mansion House.

At the JMC meeting on 1 November, the Committee again welcomed the offer of a lease and expressed the wish that it be in the joint names of the two Borough Councils.  After looking carefully at their financial position, the JMC identified the sums needed from the County Council to ensure the viability of the new arrangements.  There will now need to be further discussion with the County about these financial arrangements before a report is taken to the County Executive to confirm the arrangements for the lease.

                                                                                                          David Smith LLB

Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC)

 

Comment by Bill Slaughter,

Chairman of Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA):

The many thousands of residents who have supported the SARA Campaign to Save the Nonsuch Mansion House will be heartened tremendously by David Smith’s comments. As Mr Smith has indicated, there is obviously much work still to be done - both in the negotiation of the  lease terms and reaching agreement in respect of financial contributions that will be needed from Surrey County Council to ensure the viability of the new arrangements.

 The JMC, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton are all working hard to complete the lease negotiations with Surrey County Council that will, once and for all, secure the future of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House. I have no doubt that without the SARA campaign and pressure from so many residents, the present very encouraging situation would not have been reached. That Surrey County Council has finally bowed to that pressure and entered into talks on the provision of a long lease to the JMC is in itself commendable - although it would not have been necessary if the County Council had not acted in the way that it did in the first place.

I particularly want to thank all those residents who signed the SARA petition, attended the SARA public meeting at Bourne Hall (and generously donated to the costs of SARA’s campaign - over £300 was contributed in an unsolicited collection taken at the meeting), as well as all those who wrote to the Leader of Surrey County Council, following the meeting. Many who did so also very kindly agreed to their letters being published on our website.  Finally, I would add my personal thanks to residents who wrote to me congratulating SARA on the campaign.  

We will keep residents informed of further progress by way of regular updates on this website.

Bill Slaughter.

 

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW?

Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA) hosted a public meeting - The Future of Nonsuch Park and the Nonsuch Mansion House - at Bourne Hall on Monday 8th October 2007. Speakers included Mr David Smith LLB, Chief Executive of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC) and County Councillor Nigel Petrie MBE, RA county councillor for Epsom & Ewell North East Division. Mr Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam, who has strongly and consistently opposed the sale of the Mansion House, was also a guest speaker at the meeting. 

Although Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling accepted SARA's invitation to attend and speak at the meeting, just hours before the meeting was due to commence, Mr Grayling announced that he would not attend it. Conservative County Councillor Nick Skellett, Leader of Surrey County Council and Chairman of the Executive Committee declined SARA's invitation to attend as a speaker. Conservative Councillor Ian Lake, the SCC Executive member for Support Services, also declined an invitation from SARA. Councillor Lake is the member responsible for SCC's planned sell-off of the Mansion House. 

SARA remains totally committed to stopping Surrey County Council from selling off the Nonsuch Mansion House – or any part of the parklands – for commercial development. The County Council has already spent more than £100,000 commissioning a report from a firm of commercial estate agents on how the sell-off can be achieved. 

STOP PRESS:

 

SARA CHAIRMAN DEMANDS IMMEDIATE END TO COUNTY COUNCIL ‘WITCH-HUNT’:

Bill Slaughter, the Chairman of Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association (SARA), has written to Surrey County Council’s leader, Cllr Nick Skellett, complaining about the launch of a covert internal investigation by SCC to discover the identity of the high-ranking county council officer who had provided him with a copy of the secret report SCC had commissioned from a firm of estate agents, at a cost in excess of £100,000, to research sale options for the Nonsuch Park Mansion House. Bill Slaughter has asked Cllr Skellett to give his personal assurance that the investigation would be terminated immediately.

Mr Slaughter said, “I was utterly dismayed when I heard that this internal investigation – better described as a ‘witch-hunt’ – had been started. I wrote to Cllr Skellett asking for his personal assurance that this investigation would be ceased immediately. The officer concerned had been appalled by the County Council’s imperious behaviour in removing control and operational management of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House from the independent Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee last January and then taking steps to sell-off the Mansion House for commercial development.”

Mr Slaughter added, “This very senior officer acted out of a deeply-held personal conviction, even in the full knowledge that it could bring an end to a distinguished career in public service. It is grossly unfair and morally unjustifiable that, if the identity were to be discovered, the officer concerned could be subjected to disciplinary proceedings which could end in summary dismissal.”

“It is very significant that Surrey County Council is still refusing to make public the report it commissioned at taxpayer’s expense, nor will the Council divulge the date on which it transferred Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House from its protected ‘Countryside Portfolio’, into the ‘Support Services Portfolio’ which handles the disposal of surplus SCC land and property. Residents will judge for themselves the significance of both refusals. No wonder Cllr Skellett not only declined the invitation to attend and speak at SARA’s Public Meeting on 8th October but also failed to send anyone at all to defend the council’s actions.”   

Bill Slaughter concluded, “I have asked Cllr Skellett to focus instead on his much-publicized - but not yet ratified – personal offer to provide the JMC with a 125 year lease on Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House, rather than conducting a witch-hunt.  That is what everyone who cares about the future of the Park and House would wish to happen. It is the only sensible outcome to a catastrophic series of events initiated by Surrey County Council which, until the lease is granted to the JMC, still threatens the loss of future public access to the Mansion House and the walled gardens surrounding it.”

BILL SLAUGHTER’S LETTER TO CLLR SKELLETT IS REPRODUCED IN FULL BELOW. TO READ A SELECTION OF LETTERS SENT TO CLLR SKELLETT BY RESIDENTS WHO ATTENDED THE MEETING CLICK HERE > Mansion House Letters to SCC

IMPORTANT NEWS: DURING W/C 24th SEPTEMBER 2007 – AMIDST GROWING SPECULATION THAT A GENERAL ELECTION WOULD BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY – CONSERVATIVE MP CHRIS GRAYLING ATTENDED A HASTILY-CONVENED MEETING WITH FELLOW CONSERVATIVE POLITICIANS AT THE TORY-CONTROLLED COUNTY COUNCIL. ON FRIDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2007, SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL ISSUED A PRESS RELEASE SAYING THAT, "... the County Council has decided to offer a long lease to the borough councils for the whole park, the mansion and its associated buildings.”

IN A FOUR-PAGE COLOUR SELF-ADVERTISMENT IN THE EPSOM GUARDIAN ON 4th OCTOBER 2007 (PAID FOR BY TAX-PAYER’S MONEY!), MR GRAYLING CLAIMS TO HAVE,  “... brokered a solution to the future of Nonsuch Mansion which will secure public access to the building for the future.” 

WARNING RESIDENTS TO TREAT THE COUNTY COUNCIL’S STATEMENT AND MR GRAYLING’S CLAIMS WITH EXTREME CAUTION, SARA’S CHAIRMAN, BILL SLAUGHTER, SAID, "PURELY ON THE FACE OF IT, THE ABOUT-TURN BY SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL WOULD APPEAR TO BE GOOD NEWS. HOWEVER, THE TIMING OF SCC'S PRESS RELEASE IS DEEPLY SUSPICIOUS, COMING AS IT DOES JUST ONE WEEK BEFORE THE SARA PUBLIC MEETING ON MONDAY 8TH OCTOBER AND WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF A GENERAL ELECTION BEING CALLED IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.

IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THAT THIS PRESS RELEASE IS A 'SPOILER' TACTIC, DESIGNED TO DISSUADE RESIDENTS FROM ATTENDING THE SARA PUBLIC MEETING - AS WELL AS DIVERTING ATTENTION FROM THE CONSERVATIVE-CONTROLLED COUNTY COUNCIL'S REAL INTENTIONS AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS IN RESPECT OF THE MANSION HOUSE WHILST THE POSSIBILITY OF AN EARLY GENERAL ELECTION EXISTED. THAT SAID, EVEN IF THE COUNTY COUNCIL’S OFFER SHOULD PROVE GENUINE, THE ABOUT-TURN HAS HAPPENED SOLELY AS A RESULT OF THE HARD FOUGHT SEVEN-MONTH CAMPAIGN MOUNTED BY SARA AND SUPPORTED BY THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS, RATHER THAN A QUICK CHAT BETWEEN A COUPLE OF CONSERVATIVE POLITICIANS IN THE EXPECTED RUN-UP TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN EARLY GENERAL ELECTION!!

FAR FROM GIVING DUE CREDIT TO SARA’S CAMPAIGN FOR HAVING  PERSUADED SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL TO DROP ITS PLANNED SALE OF THE MANSION HOUSE, IN A PARSIMONIOUS AND THINLY-VEILED ATTACK ON SARA, THE COUNCIL’S PRESS RELEASE STATES THAT, ”It is regrettable that others have sought to imply that Surrey County Council's aim was other than those objects agreed at the Executive in February this year and, that others have sought to imply that we intended to remove these assets from public ownership and control. THE ATTACK ON SARA WAS ALL THE MORE SURPRISING, GIVEN THAT SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL’S AIM WAS EXACTLY THAT!  

IT IS VERY SIGNIFICANT THAT SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL IS STILL REFUSING TO MAKE PUBLIC THE SECRET REPORT IT COMMISSIONED FROM A FIRM OF ESTATE AGENTS, AT A COST WELL IN EXCESS OF £100,000.00, WHICH OUTLINED THE VARIOUS SCENARIOS FOR DISPOSING OF THE MANSION HOUSE FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT. THAT TOTALLY WASTED SUM OF MONEY COULD HAVE BEEN FAR BETTER SPENT ON RENOVATING THE MANSION HOUSE." 

BECAUSE MAJOR CONCERNS STILL EXIST AS TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL’S REAL INTENTIONS - ESPECIALLY AS IT HAS NOW BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT THERE WILL NOW NOT BE AN EARLY GENERAL ELECTION - THE SARA MEETING WENT AHEAD AS PLANNED AND MORE THAN 400 LOCAL RESIDENTS ATTENDED IT.

TO SEE A REPORT OF THE MEETING AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM IT, CLICK HERE > Mansion House Public Meeting

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL DOES NOT WANT YOU - THE TAXPAYER - TO SEE DETAILS OF THIS SECRET REPORT BUT EXTRACTS FROM IT ARE DETAILED BELOW:

THE CONFIDENTIAL REPORT BY BIDWELLS TO SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL:

Surrey County Council is still refusing to make the report public. The report outlines various options, including converting the Mansion House into a block of offices either as a corporate head office or business units, as well as the options of turning the House into a five star hotel or quality residential apartments. It is crystal clear that, far from returning the Mansion House and Nonsuch Park to the operational management of the trusted Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC), Surrey County Council intends to milk the Mansion House for every penny it can get from the sale of the house - regardless of the wishes of thousands of residents in Sutton, Epsom & Ewell and visitors from far and wide.

One of the main scenarios in the report is that SCC should spend £2.7 million pounds to convert the Mansion House into office space to attract a rental income £250,000 a year or to grant a long lease (99 years) to developers in order to offset conversion costs. Another scenario in the report is to sell the Mansion House for £1-1.25 million to a hotel operator to develop a 29 bed luxury hotel - with a further 20 bed annexe being built to maximise the sale profit. The third scenario is to sell the Mansion House to a property developer for conversion into luxury apartments at a profit of £.1.4 - 1.75 million. All of these proposals would deny unrestricted public access for all time to the Mansion House and gardens and must inevitably put at risk some parts of the park itself.

Although SCC acquired the freehold of the Park and House some 70 years ago at well below market value, it has never paid a single penny towards its upkeep - yet it now wants to dispose of the Mansion House for a huge profit and, in doing so, deprive current and future generations from access to this beautiful and much loved building with its formal walled gardens.

At the SCC's Executive meeting on 27th February 2007, Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association (SARA) urged Surrey County Council to return the management and control of the Park and Mansion House to the JMC. SARA's plea was not even considered in the report - despite assurances from SCC that it would be.

For recent press articles about the campaign to save Nonsuch Mansion House click here > Press News

The SARA Campaign to Save Nonsuch Park Mansion House - background:

9th June 2007: It has been reported in the local press this week, that Surrey County Council has called in Bidwells, a firm of commercial estate agents whose speciality services include residential development and building consultancy - heightening fears that Surrey County Council intends to press ahead with plans to dispose of the Mansion House for commercial development. Furthermore, according to the Epsom Post, 'A consultant from a major property company is also being shown round. His hiring, which is a decision by officers, could fuel fears from the surrounding Epsom and Ewell and Sutton and Cheam community that the county council could once again consider handing the building over for private housing.'

The letter from SARA Chairman, Bill Slaughter, published in the Epsom Post on 23rd May 2007:

To read Bill Slaughter's other letters, published in the Epsom Guardian on 17th May and 26th April 2007, click here > Press News

NONSUCH PARK AND MANSION HOUSE - Statement by Bill Slaughter, Chairman, Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents' Association (SARA):

“The Corporate Management Select Committee spent a long time on 21st March 2007 considering the whole subject of Nonsuch Park and Nonsuch Mansion House. It was not a brief discussion, but a lengthy review of the situation. Various members of the SCC Executive were also present. They were all very well aware that the future of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House has aroused widespread – and continuing - public concern and anxiety. 

Our Residents’ Association County Councillor, Nigel Petrie MBE (Epsom & Ewell North East Division), spoke with deep feeling in expressing his misgivings at the way in which the Executive had dealt with matter to date. The Select Committee chairman had not originally intended to allow contributions from anyone other than committee members, but it was clear that the committee members wanted to hear the widest possible views.

County Councillor Petrie succeeded in persuading the Select Committee chairman to allow both David Smith, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council Chief Executive and Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (JMC) and myself, on behalf of Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association (SARA), to speak to the Select Committee and express our grave concerns about the action taken by SCC’s Executive Committee in suspending the JMC from managing and administering the Park and Mansion House – an action which could pave the way for the Mansion House being sold off for commercial development. 

I complained strongly that the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 27th February made no reference to the decision not to pursue the proposal to dispose of the Mansion House. The Select Committee chairman pointed out that the Executive Committee’s minutes reported the decisions made at the meeting of actions to be taken and, as the suggestion to dispose of the Mansion House was simply a recommendation from SCC officers and the Member Asset Panel - not a proposal from the Executive - it was not necessary to record in the minutes that it had not been accepted. However, I was pleased that the Select Committee chairman did affirm that the Executive had decided not to proceed with the disposal of the Mansion House – at least for the time being.

I welcome the decision of the Select Committee to appoint a task force of members from within that committee to review the actions of the Executive Committee. The Select Committee clearly wants to see a prompt resolution of the situation, and it agreed that the brief for the task force should be settled within 48 hours (including consultation time). 

The Select Committee also made it clear that it wants tripartite discussions between Surrey County Council, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton to take place as swiftly as possible, especially in respect of the future role of the Joint Management Committee in managing and administering Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House – a role that has currently been suspended by SCC’s Executive Committee.”

Bill Slaughter, 26.03.07.

Stoneleigh Ward RA Councillor Sandy Sanger (centre) - with SARA officers Barbara and Ken Shute - supervising the petition signing at Bourne Hall on 24th February 2007. 

On 27th February 2007, Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council’s Executive Committee met to vote on a proposal by their officers and Member Asset Panel to dispose of the historic Mansion House (a Grade 2 listed building) and gardens in Nonsuch Park “for commercial development” and to relocate the Nonsuch Museum elsewhere.  More than 300 residents from Epsom & Ewell and Sutton boroughs attended the meeting to protest at the County Council’s plans.

Shortly before the meeting – and in less than 48 hours – Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association’s Stoneleigh Ward RA councillors, Ruby Smith, Sandy Sanger, and Alan Winkworth, had organised an 1850-signature petition which was presented to the Executive by Mr Bill Slaughter, chairman of Stoneleigh and Auriol RA, who had been invited to speak at the Executive Committee meeting.

First to speak was Mr David Smith, Chief Executive of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and Clerk to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee.  Mr Smith roundly condemned the County Council’s removal of the administration and operational control of Nonsuch Park from the Joint Management Committee (which consists of representatives from Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton) – the body which was set up to manage the Park when Surrey County Council acquired the freehold on 30th April 1937. Throughout all those 70 years the entire upkeep costs of the Park have been met by the taxpayers of the two boroughs.

In a strongly worded plea, Bill Slaughter urged the Executive to dismiss the proposal to dispose of the Mansion House and instead to return the control and administration of the Park and Mansion House to the Joint Management Committee.  He reminded members of SCC’s Executive Committee that, in the 70 years that SCC had owned the Park and Mansion House, SCC had never paid one penny towards the upkeep and maintenance!

Further speeches by RA County Councillor Nigel Petrie MBE (Epsom & Ewell North East Division) and Paul Burstow MP (Sutton and Cheam) followed - both also protesting at SCC’s plans. (Epsom & Ewell’s Conservative MP, Chris Grayling, did not attend the meeting and has failed to publicly oppose the Conservative-controlled County Council’s plans). After much discussion – in private – members of the Executive returned and voted unanimously to drop the contentious disposal plans, opting instead for a two-month consultation period – ‘conveniently’ postponing the matter past the local borough council elections on 3rd May 2007! 

However – and very significantly - when the Minutes of the Executive Committee meeting were published on the SCC website NO MENTION WAS MADE IN THE MINUTES OF THE DECISION TAKEN TO DROP THE MANSION HOUSE DISPOSAL PLANS.

Stoneleigh Ward RA councillors, Ruby Smith, Alan Winkworth and Sandy Sanger at County Hall with SARA's petition on 27th February 2007.

Stoneleigh and Auriol Residents’ Association and Nonsuch Park and District Residents’ Association will continue to fight for the operational control and management of the Park and Mansion House to be returned to the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee and, above all, for the safeguarding of the future of Nonsuch Park and the Mansion House for the free use and enjoyment of residents and visitors, both now and for future generations in the years to come.  

Nonsuch Mansion House, circa 1920