Background and Vision

Background and Vision

Ewell has a strong sense of community, from the abundance of individual businesses occupying the High Street, to the knitted post box tops, and the cultural events reflecting on the village’s past that take place throughout the year. The village also has a rich history and is peppered with architectural gems that reflect this.

Previous research has identified that the village struggles with too much traffic, speeding traffic, unsafe pavements, congestion, and parking issues on the High Street that make it unsafe for pedestrians. Residents felt they wanted to reclaim the village for residents, with more shops on the High Street, better air quality, and space for outdoor dining and socialising. 

Surrey County Council (SCC) believes there is a lot of opportunity for the village to thrive. During Covid-19 a council proposal to restrict traffic movements in the centre of the village was not well received, with concerns mainly relating to fears of traffic displacement onto immediately adjacent residential roads. SCC now wants to understand more about the community and how the residents would like to see it improved, whilst acknowledging the traffic displacement concerns previously raised.

Over the summer, SCC conducted some in-depth market research with Ewell Village residents, businesses, and visitors to understand what people felt needed to be improved. Now we want to broaden the research to feed into the improvement plans that will, hopefully, make Ewell Village a great place to live, do business, and visit.

Solutions currently being considered include some degree of traffic restriction along the High Street (without displacement of traffic onto West Street or Staneway), more space for pedestrians and improved safety measures, 20mph speed restrictions in some areas, a review of parking, and improvements to street clutter on the High Street to tidy it up. 

The Research

Starting in 2020, two community-led pieces of research were conducted to understand what changes residents would like to see to improve the village. 

The issues identified by residents were:

• Too much traffic passing through the village 
• Traffic is too fast
• Parking on high street causes congestion 
• Not enough safe spaces for pedestrians to cross 
• Want to return to a more village feel 
• Desire for better quality/more shops on the high street 
• Need more space for outdoor dining 
• Poor air quality

The suggestions made in the surveys to improve the village included:

• Introduce 20mph restriction 
• Complete or partial pedestrianised area of the high street
• More pedestrian crossings 
• Offer free time in car parks to encourage people to use them instead of parking on the high street 
• Remove on-street parking 
• Repainting/tidying up the high street – ie shop fronts, hanging baskets, pavement clutter 

Following this, in summer 2022, Surrey County Council conducted in-depth, qualitative research to understand the main areas people would like to see improved, and what improvements were needed.

The main findings were:

• High traffic volume is an issue 
• On-street parking is causing congestion, meanwhile car parks are underused 
• The High Street needs more independent, diverse and interesting businesses
• Speeding traffic through the village 
• Narrow and uneven paving makes some areas unsafe, especially for those with mobility issues/disabilities
• Village would benefit from more greenery, particularly on the high street
• A lack of safe places to cross makes it unsafe for children to walk to school 
• The village has a good community spirit, lots of green space and an interesting history

The overall aim of this project is to address these concerns from residents, and improve Ewell Village for everyone, helping to achieve the vision.