Open Letter To Centrica Combined Common Investment Fund Directors

 Dear Sir/Madam 

HERSHAM GREEN SHOPPING CENTRE, HERSHAM, SURREY 

I am writing to you in my capacity as Hersham Ward Councillor of Elmbridge Borough Council and also on behalf of my fellow Hersham Ward Councillors, Wendy Gibbs and John O’Reilly. This is an open letter and will be widely copied in the first instance to those as indicated, including Monica Harding MP. 

Hersham Green Shopping Centre was purchased by Centrica Combined Common Investment Fund on 14 May 2021, at which time it was a fully functioning and thriving village hub. 

You may be aware that your JV partner, Quadrant Repurpose, submitted a planning application to Elmbridge Borough Council, reference 2024/0498, to redevelop and reconfigure the site. There were in excess of 2,900 objections from residents, an unprecedented number. The majority of your own tenants within The Centre, including your anchor tenant Waitrose, 80% of all other businesses in the wider Hersham area, the local Doctors Surgery, the local Burhill Primary School and other stakeholders also strongly objected to the proposal. 

The application was considered by Elmbridge Borough Council Planning Committee on 23 October 2024 and was rejected by the committee with all 14 votes against. Other Councillors also spoke, once again unanimously, against the proposal. 

The reason for this letter is born out of the rapidly growing concern regarding the current and ongoing situation at The Centre. All the leases are due to terminate within the next few months or so. Many tenants are in a state of limbo following the rejection and, as far as I am aware, no tenant has been advised of your current intentions going forward following the rejection of the application. Furthermore, given the number of businesses which are having to vacate The Centre and the increasingly clear lack of maintenance of the units, councillors and residents are extremely concerned that the whole centre is being left to decay. 

As your ownership is part of the vitally important Hersham Local District Centre, the above scenario is unacceptable for the businesses within The Centre, the wider business community and all local residents and stakeholders. In this respect the survival of Waitrose is critical, bearing in mind the Hersham store is accepted as being a very successful unit and indeed acknowledged as a destination store for a large part of the Borough. 

Furthermore, there are currently several local large-scale residential proposals being put forward within Hersham boundary, which have crystallised since the rejection of your proposals. This will make the future of Hersham Green Shopping Centre even more critical to the village and the wider area. In addition, the resulting increased number of residents are likely to be of considerable benefit to you. 

My local Councillor colleagues and various local residents groups are of course acutely aware of the benefits of upgrading The Centre and appropriate additional infrastructure. We will support proposals that are mutually beneficial to you as the owner and us as the local 

community. The unanimous rejection of application 2024/0498 together with subsequent likely developments in Hersham indicates a need for a fresh approach. 

I appreciate the scale of the business decisions that you regularly make but the entire community in Hersham feels that a faster route to a successful completion has always been available and this should now be pursued. This is why my fellow Hersham councillors and I would like to explore every opportunity with you to consider options that could result in an outcome that benefits you as a business and also Hersham residents, whom we represent. 

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Paul Hughes 

Hersham Ward Councillor 

Elmbridge Borough Council 

Cc: Monica Harding MP 

Cc: Quadrant Repurpose 

Cc: LaSalle Investments