(claygate.org.uk is a volunteer-run website which is free to use for everyone.)
Welcome to Claygate
For a quintessential English village just eight stops from London Waterloo, you can’t beat Claygate. Recently voted Surrey's sixth best place to live, Claygate features a traditional shopping parade packed with independent outlets, a cute village green and strong community spirit.
Claygate is an idyllic sought-after village, bordered by woods and countryside on three sides and interlacing with Esher and Hinchley Wood on its fourth. Community spirit is high—and the Claygate community calendar reflects that with a packed schedule of events throughout the year. It’s home to the country’s oldest village flower show—the Claygate Flower and Village Show—which takes place on a Saturday in July at the Claygate Recreation Ground, attracting upwards of 6,000 people. And the annual Christmas Lights switch-on is a big event at the end of November, sometimes with a local celebrity doing the honours—Cliff Richard and Ronnie Wood among them.
Claygate may have gained its name from the clay pits in the village that provided bricks for manor houses in much of the surrounding area, including most of Hampton Court Palace. But its origins go back to the Domesday Book of 1086. In the 1820s, the Claygate Pearmain apple was discovered here, growing in a hedge, by John Braddick.
A Walk through Claygate
Local News
Surrey is among the counties where a unitary system of government could be set up, says an article in The Times today (25th November). This would mean the end of Elmbridge Council, if it were to happen. Ministers believe the two-tier system of local government is inefficient, and a blockage to housing development. Merging every two-tier council would save almost £3 billion over five years, it is said. The two-tier system was introduced by Edward Heath, tidying up a complex configuration of rural and town councils in 1974. A white paper will be published within weeks. (source)
The footpath leading from Coverts Road, past Sixty Acre Wood, over the A3 footbridge, and through to Fairoak Lane is closed from 18th November for up to three weeks for resurfacing works by Surrey County Council. (Walkers report that on 23rd November, only the final section of the path from the crosspath to Fairoak Lane was fenced off.)
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After taking responsibility from the CVA for creating a This is Claygate website, the Parish Council has unexpectedly decided to update its own website first, and then work on the This is Claygate website next year.
The Parish Council has decided that 26th April 2025 will be the date of the next Litter Pick, despite being warned that this date has already been scheduled for the CVA's Get Involved Day.
The Planning Inspector has rejected Elmbridge's Local Plan. In response, Elmbridge can either revise its plan within six months, or start a new plan. The current Local Plan expires in 2026.
The Parish Council's Housing Working Group has drawn up a list of possible sites around Claygate which may be considered for development by Elmbridge.
The Planning Committee has decided to continue to meet monthly despite the fact that the majority of applications to which it objects never get considered at Elmbridge's monthly planning meetings.
