Mole Valley District Council

Mole Valley District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Roger Adams, Liberal Democrat since 20 May 2025 [1]
Leader	Bridget Kendrick, Liberal Democrat since 20 May 2025
Chief Executive	Karen Brimacombe since 2017
Structure
Seats	39 councillors
Political groups	Administration (31)   Liberal Democrats (31) Other parties (8)   Ashtead Ind. (6)   Conservative (2)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Pippbrook, Dorking, RG14 1SJ
Website
www.molevalley.gov.uk

South Holmwood

Mole Valley District Council provides district-level services for the local government district of Mole Valley, in Surrey, in South East England. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council. ^[2] Parts of the district are covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas. ^[3]

Political control

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: ^{[4] [5]}

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

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2012 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
James Friend [6]		Conservative		May 2012
Chris Townsend [6] [7]		Independent	May 2012	2015
James Friend [8] [9]		Conservative	May 2015	2016
Vivienne Michael [10] [11]		Conservative	2016	May 2019
Stephen Cooksey [12] [13]		Liberal Democrats	May 2019	20 May 2025
Bridget Kendrick [14]		Liberal Democrats	20 May 2025

Composition

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: ^[15]

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	31
	Ashtead Independents	6
	Conservative	2
Total		39

The next election is due in 2026. ^[16]

Elections

See also: Mole Valley District Council elections

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. ^[17]

Most of the district lies within the Mole Valley constituency, the exception being Ashtead which is within the Epsom and Ewell constituency. ^[3]

Premises

Pippbrook House: Council's offices until 1984.

The council is based at Pippbrook on Reigate Road in Dorking, which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1984. ^[18] 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. ^[19]

References

1. "Chairman of MVDC". Mole Valley District Council. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
2. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
3. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
4. "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Mole Valley" in search box to see specific results.)
5. "Mole Valley". BBC News Online . 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
6. Martin, Guy (25 May 2012). "Tory-independent union to continue in Mole Valley". Surrey Live. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
7. Edwards, Mark (16 February 2015). "Masterplanner chosen for £100m Leatherhead regeneration project". Surrey Live. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
8. Friend, James (22 May 2015). "Conservatives have retaken Mole Valley District Council". Conservative Home. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
9. Smurthwaite, Tom; Tobitt, Charlotte (6 May 2016). "Local elections 2016: Conservatives hold Mole Valley DC as Dorking rejects town council idea". Surrey Live. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
10. "Mole Valley featured on BBC's 'Council House Crackdown'". Ashtead and Leatherhead Local. July 2016. p. 28. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
11. van Klaveren, Tom (3 May 2019). "Mole Valley Local Election results 2019: Lib Dems take control as Conservatives lose nine seats". Surrey Live. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
12. Curley, Rebecca (8 May 2019). "Mole Valley District Council to be run by committees instead of cabinet". Surrey Live. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
13. Caulfield, Chris (23 May 2025). "New Mole Valley District Council leader appointed". Surrey World. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
14. "Leader of MVDC". Mole Valley District Council. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
15. Van Klaveren, Tom (3 May 2024). "Mole Valley Local Election Results 2024 in full as Lib Dems maintain dominant position". Surrey Live. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
16. "Mole Valley". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
17. "The Mole Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2023/49, retrieved 13 January 2024
18. "The war-time library goes up market into mansion". Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser. 14 February 1986. p. 16. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
19. "Dorking". West Sussex Gazette. 10 December 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 13 January 2024.