Agenda and draft minutes

The Committee is asked to appoint a Chair of the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee from Councillors representing Sutton Council for the Municipal Year 2026/27.

The Committee was asked to appoint a Chair for Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee from Councillors representing Sutton Council for the Municipal Year 2026/27.

Councillor Louise Phelan proposed that she be appointed. The Committee unanimously agreed that Councillor Louise Phelan be appointed as Chair for Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee for the Municipal Year 2026/27.

The Committee gave a vote of thanks to Councillor Tony Froud for his work as Chair over the past year.

Up to 30 minutes will be set aside for the Committee to receive any questions or statements from members of the public.

To register to ask a question or make a statement at a meeting of the Committee, please contact: Democraticservices@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

Questions and statements not submitted to Democratic Services prior to the meeting may be accepted at the Chair’s discretion.

At the discretion of the Chair, a number of questions that had been provided by residents to Committee Members prior to the meeting were put by the Members. The questions were in relation to:

·                     The launch date for the Nonsuch Park Dog-Walking Licensing Scheme?

·                     People digging holes in the Park to create bike ramps…

-       Could this be managed under the Park Byelaws and how would this be enforced?

-       Is the Park BMX track available general use, and if not, how does one gain access to it?

It was noted that the Interim Assistant Head of Service (Streetcare) would be made aware of the questions and provide responses to Members post-meeting.

To receive declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or other registrable or non-registrable interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

Councillor John Beckett, Other Interest: In the interest of openness and transparency, Councillor John Beckett stated that his brother-in-law works for Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and is headquartered in the Park. He stated that it would in no way affect his role as a Member of the Committee or his ability to make open-minded decisions.

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 16 March 2026 (attached) and to authorise the Chair to sign them.

The Committee confirmed as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 March 2026 and authorised the Chair to sign them.

To fix the dates and times for meetings of the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee for the 2026/27 Municipal Year.

The Committee received a report asking the Committee to fix the dates and times of its meetings for the 2026/27 Municipal Year.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Fix the day and time of its meetings for the municipal year 2026/27, as follows:

Monday 15th June 2026, 10:00

Monday 12th October 2026, 10:00

Monday 18th January 2027, 10:00

Monday 22nd March 2027, 10:00

This item presents the Joint Management Committee’s final accounts for the financial year 2025/26.

The Committee received a report presenting the Committee’s final accounts for the financial year 2025/26.

The Committee considered the following matters:

a)            Reserve Funds. A Member enquired as to the process for determining which works are to be financed by reserve funds. The Director of Corporate Services stated that he did not have the information to hand and would provide the formal process to Members post-meeting.

b)            Parkrun. A Member enquired as to whether the Committee receives any income from Parkruns. The Director of Corporate Services stated that Parkrun is a free service and expected income for the Committee (if any) to be minimal. The Accountant stated that she would check the income data with respect to Parkrun and update the Committee post-meeting.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Receive the final accounts for 2025/26.

The Committee shall receive a verbal update in respect of Local Government Reorganisation.

The Committee received a verbal update in respect of Local Government Reorganisation (‘LGR’) from the Director of Corporate Services.

The Committee considered the following matters:

a)            The Director of Corporate Services stated that initial meetings had been held between Epsom and Sutton Officers to discuss implications for the Nonsuch Park and the Committee in view of LGR.

a.    He explained that Surrey County Council are the freeholders for the Park, with Epsom and Sutton Councils being leaseholders. The Legal team had advised that, following LGR, it would not be possible for East Surrey Council (‘ESC’) to be both a freeholder and a leaseholder of the Park – conversations surrounding this matter were ongoing as solutions were being explored.

b.    He stated that conversations with the Sutton Strategic Leadership Team had confirmed that, following LGR, Sutton Council intended to continue to jointly manage the Park, akin to current arrangements.

c.    He stated that he expected funding arrangements to stay the same – i.e. equal financial contributions from both authorities (ESC and Sutton), but was not able to confirm at this time exactly what the arrangements would be.

d.    He stated that for the remainder of 2026/27, staffing arrangements would remain unchanged, but was not able to confirm what the staffing arrangements would look like post-LGR.