(Image: Friends of Horsley Station & Zöe Franklin MP)
On 6 August, Zoe Franklin, MP for Guildford, visited Horsley and Effingham Junction stations as part of her tour of stations across her constituency. She met with members of the active ‘Friends’ groups who welcomed her to the village and highlighted key ongoing concerns.
A primary focus was accessibility, particularly the lack of step-free access to the London-bound platforms—a long-standing and unsatisfactory issue fully acknowledged by Zoe. The Friends groups shared their LOBLA (‘London-Bound Level Access’) campaign, which addresses this problem. The Government’s ‘Access for All’ funding, awarded roughly every five years and recently used to install a lift at Leatherhead Station, is a vital resource. Local contributions, including potential funding from developments like Wisley New Town, will strengthen bids for this competitive funding.
Zoe was also made aware of emerging car park capacity problems at Effingham Junction, where spaces are often nearly full on weekdays outside holiday periods, notably Thursdays. She was urged that planning for an expansion should begin now, rather than wait until the situation becomes critical.
During her visit to Horsley, Zoe viewed the new facilities, met Richard Bunce from South Western Railway, and spotted the Village Hall featured on the new ‘Welcome to Horsley’ sign, where she once worked. At Effingham Junction, she inspected the improved access road and footpath.
At both stations, Zoe enjoyed the colourful floral planters and the ‘wild’ areas maintained by the Friends to support local wildlife.