Mole Valley District | |
---|---|
Motto(s): Ministrando vigilans (Latin: Vigilant in our serving) | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East England |
Non-metropolitan county | Surrey |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Dorking |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Mole Valley District Council |
Area | |
• Total | 99.7 sq mi (258.3 km2) |
• Rank | 133rd (of 296) Highest point : Leith Hill |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 87,608 |
• Rank | 270th (of 296) |
• Density | 880/sq mi (340/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 97.4% White |
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 43UE (ONS) E07000210 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | TQ0496458567 |
Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking, and the district's other town is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district.
Most of the district is on the escarpments of or adjoins the Surrey Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which cover parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge, including locally Leith Hill, Polesden Lacey and Box Hill. Denbies Wine Estate, the largest vineyard in the country, is on the hills north-west of Dorking. [1] The Pilgrims' Way footpath runs along the North Downs. There are stations on the London–Worthing and Reading–Gatwick Airport railways, and in the northern third, a commuter stopping-service pattern line, London–Guildford (via Epsom) line.
The A24 road and the M25 motorway are the main thoroughfares and relative to London the incidence of car ownership is high. The area hosts hill-focussed sub-laps of the London–Surrey Classic cycling tour each year.
The neighbouring districts are Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead, Crawley, Horsham, Waverley, Guildford, Elmbridge and Kingston upon Thames, the latter being a London borough.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering three former districts which were all abolished at the same time: [2] [3]
The new district was named after the River Mole, which flows through the area. [4]
Mole Valley District Council | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Karen Brimacombe since 2017 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 39 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 2 May 2024 |
Meeting place | |
Pippbrook, Dorking, RG14 1SJ | |
Website | |
www |
Mole Valley District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council. [6] Parts of the district are covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas. [7]
The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2019.
The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [8] [9]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
No overall control | 1974–1980 | |
Independent | 1980–1982 | |
No overall control | 1982–1994 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1994–1995 | |
No overall control | 1995–2006 | |
Conservative | 2006–2010 | |
No overall control | 2010–2015 | |
Conservative | 2015–2018 | |
No overall control | 2018–2019 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2019–present |
The leaders of the council since 2012 have been: [10]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
James Friend | Conservative | May 2012 | ||
Chris Townsend [11] | Independent | May 2012 | May 2015 | |
James Friend | Conservative | May 2015 | 2016 | |
Vivienne Michael | Conservative | 2016 | 5 May 2019 | |
Stephen Cooksey | Liberal Democrats | 21 May 2019 |
Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: [12]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 30 | |
Ashtead Independents | 6 | |
Conservative | 3 | |
Total | 39 |
The next election is due in 2024.
Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Surrey County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections. [13]
Most of the district lies within the Mole Valley constituency, the exception being Ashtead which is within the Epsom and Ewell constituency. [7]
The council is based at Pippbrook on Reigate Road in Dorking, which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1984. [14] It was built in the grounds of a large Victorian house, called Pippbrook House, which had served as the headquarters of the old Dorking Urban District Council from 1931 and then as Mole Valley District Council's headquarters until the new building opened. [15]
The former Leatherhead Urban District, which included Ashtead, Fetcham, Great Bookham and Little Bookham, is an unparished area, as is the majority of the former Dorking Urban District. [7] [16]
The rest of the district is covered by civil parishes: [17] [18]
A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed Mole Valley as the second most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom, after the nearby Borough of Waverley. [19]
Church | Place | Listed building Class |
---|---|---|
St Michael | Betchworth | I [20] |
St Nicolas | Great Bookham | I [21] |
All Saints | Little Bookham | II* |
St Nicholas | Charlwood | I [22] |
St Michael | Mickleham | I [23] |
St John the Evangelist | Wotton | I [24] |
St Mary & St Nicholas | Leatherhead | II* [25] |
St Barnabas | Ranmore Common | II* [26] |
St Mary | Pixham | II* [27] |
St Martin | Dorking | II* [28] |
St Mary | Fetcham | II* [29] |
St Giles | Ashtead | II* [30] |
St James | Abinger Common | II* [31] |
Holy Trinity | Westcott | II* [32] |
St Bartholomew | Leigh | II* [33] |
St Margaret | Ockley | II* [34] |
St John the Baptist | Walliswood | II* [35] |
Mole Valley is served by these emergency services:
Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately 15.5 mi (25 km) south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on the northern slopes of the North Downs and is in the catchment area of The Rye, a tributary of the River Mole.
Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about 17 mi (27 km) south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leatherhead was a royal vill and is first mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great in 880 AD. The first bridge across the Mole may have been constructed in around 1200 and this may have coincided with the expansion of the town and the enlargement of the parish church.
Fetcham is a suburban village in Surrey, England west of the town of Leatherhead, on the other side of the River Mole and has a mill pond, springs and an associated nature reserve. The housing, as with adjacent Great Bookham, sits on the lower slopes of the North Downs north of Polesden Lacey (NT). Fetcham Grove has Leatherhead and the village's main leisure centre and football club, between the two settlements. Fetcham has two short parades of shops and services, several sports teams and parks and a small number of large pubs and food premises.
The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for 80 km to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey district of Mole Valley.
Epsom and Ewell is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Chris Grayling, a Conservative.
Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surrey and Sussex ran to the south of Gatwick Airport. Boundaries were reformed in 1974 so that the county boundary between Surrey and West Sussex, delineated by the Sussex Border Path, now runs along the northern perimeter of the airport, and the southern extent of Charlwood.
Mole Valley is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Sir Paul Beresford, a Conservative.
Betchworth is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. The village centre is on the north bank of the River Mole and south of the A25 road, almost 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Dorking and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Reigate. London is 19.5 miles (31.4 km) north of the village.
Epsom was a rural district of Surrey from 1894 to 1933.
Headley is a village and civil parish in the North Downs in Surrey, England. The nearest settlements are, to the west, Mickleham and Leatherhead; to the north, Ashtead and Langley Vale; to the east, Walton-on-the-Hill; and to the south, Box Hill. It is just outside the M25 motorway encircling London.
Leatherhead railway station is in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. It is managed by Southern, with services provided by them and South Western Railway. It is 18 miles 2 chains (29 km) from London Waterloo.
Salfords and Sidlow is a civil parish in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England. It has a population of 3,069. The parish includes the villages of Salfords and Sidlow.
One third of Mole Valley District Council in Surrey, England is elected each year, followed by one year when there is an election to Surrey County Council instead.
Pixham is a chapelry within the parish of Dorking, Surrey on the near side of the confluence of the River Mole and the Pipp Brook to its town, Dorking, which is centred 1 km (0.6 mi) southwest. The town as a whole, uniquely in Surrey, has three railway stations; Pixham adjoins or is the location of two of the three; and is near the junction of the A24 and A25 main roads.
Ashtead Park is a 24.2-hectare (60-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Ashtead in Surrey. It is owned by Mole Valley District Council. It contains several important listed buildings. The Park itself has remains of a Roman building, four lakes/ponds and the school's playing fields and is Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Providence Chapel is a former Nonconformist place of worship in the village of Charlwood in the English county of Surrey. Founded in 1816 on the outskirts of the ancient village, it was associated with Independent Calvinists and Strict Baptists throughout nearly two centuries of religious use. The "startling" wooden building—remarkably un-English with its simple veranda-fronted style—had seen several years of service as an officers' mess at a nearby barracks. The chapel was put up for sale in 2012. English Heritage has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance. It was also on that body's Heritage at Risk Register because of its poor structural condition, but repairs were carried out and in 2019 it was deemed no longer at risk.