I am calling for your support, not as a stranger, but as one of your local councillors, who with Kim Spickett and Graham Jones my councillor colleagues, and the committee of the Cuddington Residents' Association value the importance of preserving our cherished spaces. A cherished and protected woodland, located in Grafton Road, has been unexpectedly put up for auction by Surrey County Council. It was shockingly marketed by commercial estate auctioneers for potential development of up to 40 homes.

Surrey County Council -in a gesture ignoring transparency- has failed to notify Epsom & Ewell BC or our Surrey County councillors who represent the area. The woodland we are fighting for stretches from Grafton Road to the east to Old Malden Lane to the west, lying adjacent to Linden Bridge Special Needs school at the south and buffered against the Grafton Park Road estate to the north, some 13 acres of mature woodland.

Not only does this piece of woodland holds ecological significance, but it also provides an essential green refuge in our urban environment. It is a sanctuary for wildlife and a place for community members to connect with nature. A development of the proposed scale represents an irreversible loss.

The auction closed at the end of January and all bids are now being scrutinised and assessed by SCC to decide on the best offer available.  The auction stated that the vendor was not necessarily accepting the highest bid. 

Cuddington Residents' Association have joined with Wandgas Sports & Social Club and a local developer to form a joint venture to put forward a sustainable bid to provide a community project combining a minimal housing development to provide funding to facilitate the creation of a sports and community asset, with public access for walkers and cyclists, protecting the natural woodland as much as possible.

The purpose of this petition is to call on the Surrey County Council to seriously consider our bid to sell this woodland for community use and not blanket development, using the Community Asset Transfer system that SCC has recently agreed to adopt, championed by our SCC councillor, Eber Kington.. We are appealing for your support to save this important piece of our local environment.

I urge each one of you to give a voice to our woodland. Make a stand for the values we hold dear - community, respect for nature, and good governance devoid of secrecy. Sign this petition today and let our unanimous appeal resonate with the decision makers. Together, we can protect this woodland for ours and future generations. Every signature counts.