Claygate Courier—issue 57—October 2025

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SEARCH IS ON FOR BIDDERS TO RUN CENTRE

Many more volunteers will be needed to help run Claygate Centre in Elm Road once its operation has been handed over to a new management community group after Elmbridge Borough Council ceases direct management next year.

Elmbridge will be choosing a new organisation to run the Centre in mid December following a rapid search for a management group. So far, there are three potential bidders to take on a lease of the Centre, one of which involves a group of Claygate residents.

The need to find new management follows extensive consultation work undertaken on behalf of Elmbridge Borough Council this year. One key recommendation was for a Connected Communities strategy under which Elmbridge would cease directly managing all of its community centres and seek community groups to take them over and run them for the benefit of the community under a lease arrangement with Elmbridge. The idea is that this would free up funds to assist a wider section of the community who need support, as well as potentially saving £1m. This policy has been approved by Elmbridge Borough Council.

There have been meetings to clarify the timescale for submitting a bid to take over a community centre lease, as well as to establish Elmbridge's requirements and expectations of a bidder.

There are three potential bidders for Claygate Centre and the Parish Council is keen to support bidders and anyone interested in providing services and activities at the Centre or hiring the venue. The final date for formal submission of a bid is November 14. The tight and challenging deadline is largely a consequence of the forthcoming transition of Surrey into unitary authorities. Elmbridge expects to decide on the winning bidder for the lease in mid-December.

But whoever takes over will need more volunteers than ever. The successful bidder for the lease will inevitably seek to make greater use of the building for a wider section of the community and be dependent on volunteers to help make things happen. The Parish Council will provide updates and announcements on notice boards and social media. Help, thoughts and ideas from all Claygate residents are needed.

In the meantime Claygate Centre remains open for business for members of the public as well as Centre members. The tea bar provides tea, coffee, sandwiches, toasties and cakes at affordable prices, Activities for Centre members, such as chair-based exercises and yoga, and services such as hairdressing and podiatry, remain available. Lunch is still available daily for Centre members with entertainment on Thursday afternoon.

The recent visit of pet therapy animals also proved to be very popular. And the annual Christmas Fayre will take place at the Centre on Thursday November 20 from 10am to noon; everyone is welcome.

John Bamford, Trustee, Friends of Claygate Centre

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Donna Holt, who chairs Claygate Parish Council, highlights the issues that will affect everyone in the village

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your ongoing support of the Claygate Parish Council, it is truly a privilege to serve this wonderful village and your enthusiasm and assistance in our various initiatives inspire us every day.

I am also pleased to welcome two Parish Councillors John Burns, an expert in highways and transportation, and Stephen Ellis, who brings experience in planning. Both were co opted in August from a field of six applicants and will serve until May 2027, when local elections take place.

Their contributions will strengthen our Environment, Highways and Transport and Planning Committees. Both committees have seen recent successes, including the defeat of the Raleigh Drive planning application and providing advice to Surrey County Council regarding options for transport at Hook Park. More details will be shared by the Committee Chairs in their articles.

I have been engaged in the Local Government Review by drafting the Parish Council's response to the consultation. Additionally, as chair of the only Parish Council in Elmbridge, I have had the honour of representing our Parish on the pilot East Elmbridge Neighbourhood Area Committee planned by Surrey County Council. These area committees are expected to be the link between new Unitary Councils and the local communities they serve. Councillor Michael Collon provides further insights in his article.

For those concerned about the Community Centre, particularly in light of the recent planning approval for housing at the Winning Horse site, I encourage you to read the update from John Bamford of the Friends of the Claygate Centre. The Parish Council is committed to supporting any community members interested in bidding to manage the Centre.

During a recent update with Elmbridge Borough Council, we learned about the consultation regarding Torrington Lodge car park. Architects are exploring four development scenarios: a gym and residential; shops and residential; health centre and residential; housing only. We look forward to collaborating with Elmbridge on this consultation. The Claygate Vision and Action Plan consultation statement, conducted this year, has faced delays but is expected to be presented to the Elmbridge Cabinet and published by the end of the year.

Parents of children at Claygate Primary School may be aware that Hinchley Wood School's admissions policy was reviewed earlier this year. I met Ben Bartlett, former head of the school, and chair of the school's Trust, to advocate for Claygate's interests, as the policy had been disadvantageous to our applicants. Thanks to the efforts of the public, Claygate Primary School, the Parish Council, Elmbridge Councillors, and local MP Monica Harding, we successfully lobbied for the existing admissions policy to remain unchanged.

I also spent a morning with residents and carers from Wingham Court, walking through the village to understand better the transport and accessibility challenges they encounter. This experience highlighted several areas for improvement. I compiled my findings and shared them with Surrey County Councillor Mark Sugden for further action. Tragically, Mark passed away before he could address these issues. I recently connected with our new Surrey representative, Councillor Andy Burton, and we had a productive discussion on advancing some of these initiatives.

A discussion surrounding a proposed 20mph speed limit continues. The Parish Council debated this topic in August and September and proposes a comprehensive consultation by Surrey County Council. We belleve previous surveys have not adequately gauged community support for the 20mph limit. While we acknowledge that a lower speed limit can enhance safety, we also recognise that other measures can also contribute to this goal. In the meantime, some residents are-campaigning for 20mph restrictions on part of Hare Lane. We share concerns regarding safety on Hare Lane, where average speeds are 23-24 mph. However, many issues stem from hazardous junctions and the width of the road rather than excessive speeding.

We have already collaborated with Surrey to widen pathways for pedestrians on Hare Lane and now the Parish Council is exploring ways to improve sight lines at the intersection of Loseberry Road and Hare Lane, where a recent accident occurred. Additionally, we have commissioned a report from the Transport and Parking Group to provide recommendations. We have also asked the County Council about Claygate's position in the Local Street Improvement Plan consultation to ensure a thorough assessment.

And it's important to highlight some of our smaller yet very meaningful projects such as the WI's displaced postbox topper, for which a new home is being created Nick, landlord of the Hare and Hounds, has generously agreed to sponsor this idea, and we hope for a new "monument" on The Green soon. Other initiatives Include the a bench in The Parade and our litter picks. We also participate in events such as "Get Involved Day", the Flower Show, and helping with marshalling at the Christmas Lights switch-on. And so we thank you for your support and engagement in making Claygate a vibrant and welcoming community.

Lastly, I would like to thank Peter Whitehead for all his hard woric in producing this edition of the Courier.

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WHEN IS GREEN BELT NOT GREEN?

The creation of a new land category, called Grey Belt, is presenting councillors on planning committees with a complex maze of new concepts to navigate. Grey Belt land is defined as "land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and/or any other land" that does "not strongly contribute to any of a set of specific purposes.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework, which brings into force the concept of Grey Beit, lists five purposes of the Green Belt, which protects Claygate from becoming consumed by urban sprawl. They are: to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas; to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another; to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging recycling of derelict and other urban land.

But Green Belt land that only safeguards the countryside from encroachment or could be used to encourage the recycling of derelict land is now classed as Grey Belt and could be built on. Other categories of specially protected land, plus areas subject to flooding or coastal changes, are also safeguarded, while not being designated as Grey Belt.

This begs the question as to what "not strongly contributing to Green Belt purposes means. For this. there is the Green Belt Guidance issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This advises planning authorities that areas performing strongly in preventing the sprawl of large built up areas (such as Greater London) are "likely to be free of existing development, and lack physical feature(s) in reasonable proximity that could restrict and contain development". They are also likely to be adjacent to or near a large built-up area; and, if developed, would create an incongruous pattern of development, such as an extended "finger" of development into the Green Belt.

Amid all this complexity, the Parish Council remains "opposed to any reduction in the designated Green Belt and to any proposed development that detracts from its amenity value".

The concept of Grey Belt is clearly designed to justify the release of some areas of Green Belt for development. This is a prospect likely to be faced by most planning authorities outside London, dealing with massive increases in their housing targets, Government policy on housing seems demand-driven, with little consideration given to the supply side, such as availability of land and skilled tradesmen to build houses.

• Unsurprisingly, the application to build 60 houses on Green Belt land north of Raleigh Drive, which had been rejected in 2023-4, reappeared for determination under the new National Planning Policy Framework. Elmbridge Borough Council's full Planning Committee recently voted to refuse the new application, but decided to consider it again at a subsequent meeting. Planning officers have recommended that the application should be granted.

• The Planning Committee has continued its work of reviewing all planning applications for Claygate, most of which are from householders seeking home extensions. Several applications have been refused recently by Elmbridge on grounds of "bulk" or "mass" - in some cases where the Parish Council had no objection. This is is an area of professional judgment by planning officers, whose views may sometimes differ from the Parish Council's.
• Two applications have recently come before Elmbridge's East Area Planning Sub-Committee:
  • One, for development of part of the front garden of 31 Stevens Lane, to which the Parish Council had objected, was refused on the same grounds that an almost identical application for the same site had been refused by a planning inspector.
  • But Borough Councillors felt unable to refuse an application to convert the former Winning Horse pub into a pair of semi-detached houses with a detached house behind, although the Winning Horse building is listed as an Asset of Community Value. This is disappointing, especially for the Claygate Community Benefit Society, which had hoped to buy the pub and make it a community facility.
• The Committee is also keeping a close eye on proposals for a major residential development, known as "Hook Park", on admittedly degraded Green Belt land just across the A3 in Hook in the Borough of Kingston. We have serious concerns about how traffic would access the site and about its density, involving eight-storey blocks next to the A3. At this stage, it seems as though even an outline planning application is several months away.

Anthony Sheppard, Chair of Planning Committee

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HUGE SHAKE-UP IN SERVICE PROVISION

How local services will be provided to Claygate residents is changing in the biggest shake-up of local government in decades. Responding to Government policy, Surrey County Council proposes to replace itself with two unitary authorities - East Surrey and West Surrey-with the abolition of itself and the existing 11 district councils.

Its plan to divide Surrey into two would see Elmbridge Borough become part of a new authority covering the eastern half of the county, with Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge.

Surrey's proposals involve retaining the existing county council electoral divisions in the new unitary authorities, which would give East Surrey 36 electoral divisions. Across Surrey, there are currently 81 county councillors and 453 district and borough councillors. Dividing the county into two would reduce this to 162 in total with, on average, 5,542 electors per councillor.

But these radical reforms are complex-and controversial. On these pages, Parish Councillor Michael Collon considers the implications for democracy, devolution and delivery of services.

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When we talk about "the Government" we usually mean central government in Westminster-but a lot of governing is actually done locally, in some parts, particularly large metropolitan areas, there is one level of local government dealing with matters devolved from national government, such as social services, running schools, and managing highways.

But in much of the country there are two tiers of local government: county councils (in our case Surrey), responsible for matters such as education, fire, highways, transport, and social care, and below that district councils fin our case Elmbridge Borough Council) whose responsibilities include environmental health, housing and planning.

But this creates anomalies: Elmbridge is responsible for waste collection, but Surrey for waste disposal; Surrey for libraries but Elmbridge for leisure.

The Government wants to merge them and so is combining the functions of Surrey County Council and its 11 district councils and replacing them with two, or possibly even three, new councils.

The solution preferred by Surrey and Elmbridge is to have two-East Surrey and West Surrey unitary authorities. Some district councils would like to see three unitary authorities, with Elmbridge joining Spelthorne and Runnymede as North Surrey. The Government will decide-and by May 2027 Elmbridge will be history: Claygate will (most probably) be governed by the unitary authority of East Surrey, which will have all the responsibilities now divided between Surrey and Elmbridge.

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES

The Government believes this reorganisation will be beneficial, as does Surrey County Council, which says it will save money and offer better value for tax payers, with

stable finances protecting vital services. Surrey also believes it will simplify services, delivering what residents need to a high quality, with fewer points of contact and reduced confusion about which council does what.

Well, maybe. Every local government reorganisation since the major one in 1972 was going to save money, but none has. The simplification of services certainly helps those who provide them, and sometimes those who need them, but "fewer points of contact" means dealing with people you don't know, who don't know you.

The Parish Council currently has excellent relations with the officers of Elmbridge: we know who does what, we know them and they know us, they are close to Claygate and understand our problems even if they can't always solve them. Will that continue with the new East Surrey? The Government believes in devolution-transferring more powers from central to local government. This may happen when the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill becomes law, but it is not happening through this reorganisation.

On the contrary, moving from 12 councils to two means fewer councillors with bigger wards and looser links to the communities they represent. In the past, larger constituencies have invariably led to lower turnout at local elections, more councillors from the larger parties and fewer from the small parties, or from residents associations, or independents. This makes it more likely that the political complexion of the unitary authority will match that of central Government, making it easier for ministers to have their policies implemented at grass roots level. This is not devolution.

CLAYGATE PARISH COUNCIL

Parish councils do not govern, and are therefore not part of the reorganisation. But this does not mean that we will not change. We will be working with different people in a different structure, and this is bound to affect what we do and how we do it. What you can be sure of is that we will continue to work for the people of Claygate to achieve what is best for them.

The Surrey County Council website says that the reorganisation "will strengthen our local communities by connecting people through Neighbourhood Area Committees in towns and villages". Nobody yet knows much about these committees.

Officers are now working on a pilot for East Elmbridge. They aim to form committees each covering about 50,000 people, so that Claygate (population 7,263) would be in the same "neighbourhood" as Cobham, Esher and further north. Each committee is likely to have 21 members, drawn from different backgrounds, and appointed by the unitary authority.

We do know from the Surrey website that "NACs are not constituted so they do not have direct decision-making powers. They will act as advisory bodies sharing local intelligence and insight with decision making organisations." If they are not constituted they cannot have financial powers, so it is not clear who will provide even the basic infrastructure and running costs.

Of course your Parish Council can do all this already. But our members are not appointed: they are elected by you, they are financed by you, they have decision-making powers, and they know the community well. In Elmbridge, there is only one Parish Council — in Claygate — but in Surrey as a whole there are almost 90. It remains to be seen what a Neighbourhood Area Committee can add to the "devolution" story.

ANDY BURTON ELECTED TO SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL

Andy Burton has been elected as Surrey Courity Counciller for Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshatt, succeeding Councillor Mark Sugden, who passed away in May after a long battle with cancer. Turnout was low at 34 per cent, but Claygate did local democracy proud with a higher turnout than both Hinchley Wood and Oxshott.

That speaks wonders for the Claygate community," said Andy, adding that Mark had left a strong legacy of service to Claygate: "Mark is well-remembered for having been apolitical, the supporter of every Claygate resident's interests and my approach will be the same."

Andy has lived with his family in Esher for 20 years, just a few yards from The Swan, all his children attended local schools. He is a keen cyclist and singer and has joined Claygate Choral Society; he is a rugby fan and Harlequins season ticket holder. Residents wishing to contact Andy about Surrey County Council matters can do so at andy.burton@surreycc.gov.uk.

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COUNCIL GRANTS PAVE THE WAY FOR VILLAGE PROJECTS

The Parish Council continues to offer strong support to numerous projects in Claygate, including four grants under the Community Infrastructure Levy this year, two of which, totalling £16,564, went towards the Holy Trinity Church Way Maker project to reinvent the churchyard as a place of quiet reflection and enjoyment for the community, as well as providing an attractive pathway through to the Recreation Ground.

The Community Infrastructure Levy is a charge that can be imposed by Elmbridge Borough Council on specific new building developments, with part of the money being made available to the Parish Council to be spent on projects that could not otherwise be supported from the Parish Precept or other funds.

Other CIL projects have included £16,100 towards drainage for the playing field at Claygate Primary School, providing a much-needed opportunity for the school to enhance extracurricular activities and draw many new people into the school to utilise this facility. And the Parish Council granted £6,000 of CIL funding to the Claygate Youth and Community Hub for a safe break-out room for the young people attending.

A sum of £50,000, originally put aside to assist the Winning Horse pub project, should it have been successful in raising all other funds, remains in the CIL fund available for other projects now it is clear that the Community Ownership Fund had been suspended by the Government.

The Parish Precept is an annual levy raised on all council taxpayers and based, like council tax, on the value of their property. It is separate from the council tax, which goes to Surrey County Council and Elmbridge Borough Council, and separate from the levy raised by Surrey Police.

All the money collected for the Parish Precept is spent in Claygate, for Claygate residents. Through its grants, the Parish Council supported the Claygate Village Association with hire of the Village Hall for the Get Involved Day and a grant towards the CVA's forthcoming Christmas Lights event and its Christmas Tree on The Green.

The Council is able to continue supporting local causes thanks to the increase in the annual Parish Precept in line with inflation, which for eight years from 2016 through to 2024 remained unchanged so that its value was eroded. This made it difficult to provide many services and to support projects. The levy was therefore increased by 12 per cent for the 2024-25 year, and by 2.5 per cent, in line with inflation, in 2025-26, meaning a Band D equivalent property pays £16.25 for for the year to the end of March 2026.

Any local group or organisation planning a project to benefit the community might be eligible for a Parish Council grant or Community Infrastructure Levy support.

Please visit the council's website claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk or contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk to find out more.