Our History
On 15th December, 1987, an initial meeting was held at the instigation of the Bevendean Residents Association, inviting representatives from all the existing Residents’ Associations within the area of Oxshott; hence the seeds of FEDORA were sown.
Appropriately, the Bevendean Chairman, James Shaw, subsequently became FEDORA’s first Chairman, a post which he held for the next five years as the organisation became established. In the early days, the dedicated members of the committee set the foundations for the organisation that today works so hard to improve and protect our local environment.
FEDORA was formed with the intention of coordinating an effective response to the continued and varied threats on the Oxshott area. This was to be achieved by bringing all the interested parties together to work and speak with one authoritative voice on matters that affected the whole community, or to assist the individual Residents’ Associations on their own specific problems.
It was not the first organisation in the area to be formed with this intention, but so far, it has been the one to cover the greatest range of subjects. Previously there had been groups set up to fight specific threats to our environment, but the true predecessor to FEDORA was The Oxshott Preservation Society, which was active in the 1950’s and 60’s. That group was probably initiated as a result of the impending threat from the post-war proposal to construct the Esher Bypass, which originally had been planned to cut across Oxshott Heath, but eventually was built slightly further north in the 1970’s.
The first meeting of the new organisation was held on 29th March 1988.
The Victoria, April 2001
The Bear, September 2003
Notable Events
MARCH 1988 – Founded as the Federation of Residents Associations of Oxshott.
APRIL 1988 – The name was changed to Federation of Oxshott Residents Associations (FEDORA).
MAY 1988 – A Constitution was adopted setting out the aims and objectives of the Organisation.
SEPTEMBER 1988 – The first FEDORA Newsletter was published.
MAY 1989 – The first major crisis was a threat to change Princes Coverts into a major sporting complex.
SEPTEMBER 1989 – On the 20th of the month the first AGM was held.
APRIL 1990 – Membership fee stays at £2 per individual. Residents Association fee raised from £25 to £35.
OCTOBER 1991 – The Elmbridge Local Plan was under review. An Oxshott bypass seemed to be on the agenda again. More helpers were requested to join the management team.
APRIL 1992 – The main areas of focus for the committee to monitor were established as: Building Developments; Roads/Traffic; Village Environment; Policing; and Railways.
JUNE 1993 – New-style newsletter published (glossy booklet style) with adverts, Graham Clarke took over as Chairman.
APRIL 1994 – Name revised to Federation of Oxshott Residents and Associations.
JUNE 1995 – The start of publishing three newsletters a year. The traffic-calming ‘Gateways’ and ‘Village Green’ actions completed, both with considerable input from FEDORA.
1996 – FEDORA negotiated with Elmbridge Council on the ‘Elmbridge Local Plan’ update. The book ‘The History of Oxshott’ published.
MARCH 2001 – Started using colour for the FEDORA magazine and its first website built.
MAY 2019 – New Management Team begins to run FEDORA.
DECEMBER 2020 – FEDORA incorporated as a non-profit limited-liability Community-Interest company – “FEDORA – The Voice for Oxshott CIC“.