Update on Ewell village improvements

Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend one of our public exhibitions and share their feedback on proposed changes to Ewell village earlier this year.

During the February to March public engagement period, we received over 1400 responses from the online survey, direct emails and post. The project team have now taken the time to review all the feedback received.

Analysis of the results has shown option E to be the most popular – this option retains traffic flow along the High Street, whilst bringing about a range of improvements to footways and the public realm, pedestrian safety, greenery, and proposes a 20mph speed limit in the village. The results showed that:

• 57% of respondents opted for option E
• 30% of respondents opted for option B
• 11% of respondents opted for option F (no change)

When filtered by those respondents that identified as living in the village, slightly more preferred option B at 36%, with 53% choosing option E.

Given the benefits that option E would bring about, and the level of community support for it, this option is being recommended for progression. 

West Street and Church Street

Results for West Street and Church Street were very close and produced no clear outcome, with all options receiving similar levels of support:

• Amongst those that identified as living there, West Street secured 32% of responses for closure, 28% for a school street, and 33% for do nothing
• Again, amongst those that identified as living there, Church Street was 18% for closure, 25% for a school street, and 32% for do nothing.
• The “do nothing” numbers were slightly higher from the whole population (rather than just those that identified as living there).

As the responses from those who identified as living on West Street and Church Street were very close, we will be re-examining options for these roads. We will look to engage directly with the schools and residents on those streets in the first instance. 

Next steps

The next steps for the project include developing a business case, which will be heard at Surrey County Council’s Infrastructure Board and Capital Programme Panel in June/July, following approval at which detailed design would commence. Construction could take place in 2026.