Stoneleigh and Nonsuch Residents' Association councillors joined hundreds of supporters of the Save the Park campaign in a mass lobby of county councillors who were meeting on February 27 to decide the fate of Nonsuch Park and mansion.

The Conservative county councillors were quite shocked by the strength of feeling on this matter and it just shows how out of touch they are with local opinion.

However, I think that they are starting to realise they are making a big mistake.

Because of the overwhelming opposition, the executive committee decided to water down their original recommendation and have now agreed to "consult" and "defer" their decision for two months.

However Nonsuch Residents' Association councillor Christine Howells said after the meeting: "In practice this decision will mean that Surrey County Council will "consult and ignore" and will neatly take the Conservatives past the borough council election date of May 3. After that, the council is likely to do whatever it wants".

It was disappointing the Conservative MP for Epsom and Ewell, Chris Grayling did not attend the meeting to support the residents in this matter.

Sandy Sanger Park Avenue West Stoneleigh Epsom