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Guide to e-petitions

The E-petition service is intended to facilitate petitions which relate to the Council's functions with the exception of planning applications and licensing matters (for which separate arrangements exist).   

Step 1: Create your petition

You will be asked to give your name, organisation (if you represent one), address and e-mail address and the title and text of your petition. You will also be asked to give a short, one-word name for your petition. This will be used to give your petition a unique URL (website address) that you can use to publicise your petition if you wish.

You will be able to specify a start and finish date for your petition. Most petitions run for three months, but you can choose a shorter or longer time frame, up to a maximum of six months.

Step 2: Submit your petition

Once you have submitted your petition, you will receive an e-mail asking you to click a link to confirm. Your proposed petition will then be delivered to Tandridge District Council.

Step 3: Petition approval

Committee Services staff at Tandridge District Council will check your petition to make sure it meets the basic requirements set out in our terms and conditions. This may take up to five working days. Once your petition is approved, we will e-mail you to let you know and it will be published online.

If we feel we cannot publish your petition, we will contact you within five working days to explain why. You will be able to change and resubmit your petition if you wish.

If you do not do this within 10 working days, a summary of the petition and the reason why it has not been accepted will be published under the 'rejected petitions' section of the website.

Step 4: Petition live

Once your petition is live, you will be able to publicise the website address (URL) you chose when you created your petition and anyone will be able to visit the website and sign it. As the petition creator, your name and your organisation, if you have specified one, will be displayed.

People who wish to sign a petition will be asked to give their name and address and an e-mail address we can verify. The system is designed to identify duplicate names and addresses and will not allow someone to sign a petition more than once.

Anyone signing a petition will be sent an e-mail asking them to click a link to confirm they have signed the petition. Once they have done this, their name will be added to the petition.

Your petition will show the total number of signatures received. It will also display the names of signatories, unless they have opted not to be shown. Your petition will be available on this website until the specified closing date.

If, during this time, it becomes clear your petition is not being run in accordance with the terms, we reserve the right to withdraw it. If this happens, we will contact you first to allow you to address the concerns we raise and we will only remove the petition as a last resort.

Step 5: Petition close

When a petition closes, it is sent to the Chief Executive and you will receive an acknowledgement from the Council within five working days of receipt. This acknowledgement will set out what we plan to do with the petition and will also be published on the website.

Petitions with 10 or more signatures can be presented to a committee meeting. The lead petitioner or a spokesperson for the petitioners may speak to the committee about the petition for up to three minutes. The petition may be referred without discussion to the next appropriate meeting for a report on what action should be taken, or a response may be made at the meeting.

If the petition is referred to a future meeting, we will let you know when that meeting will take place.

Step 6: The Council's response

The Council's response to the petition will be e-mailed to everyone who has signed the e-petition and elected to receive this information. The response will also be published on this website.

Create or sign an e-petition (This link will open in a new window)

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