Government decides on two unitary councils for Surrey Local Government Reorganisation
The government has made its decision on local government reorganisation. Surrey’s current two tier system will be replaced by two new unitary councils, East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council. As well as Tandridge, the new East Surrey Council will comprise Elmbridge, Epsom & Ewell, Mole Valley and Reigate & Banstead councils. Each unitary will be responsible for all local services, including housing, planning, waste, education, roads and social care.
It means all eleven district and borough councils, including Tandridge District Council, together with Surrey County Council will be abolished.
The Council will work collaboratively with neighbouring councils and the government to ensure a smooth transition to the new unitary councils.
Key dates:
- May 2026: Elections will be held for the new unitary councils. Elected councillors will work in a shadow authority to help prepare for the new councils.
- 31 March 2027: The 12 current councils will close
- 1 April 2027: The new unitary councils will officially take over.
Council services will continue as usual throughout this process. Bin collections, housing support, planning services and all other council run services will keep running with staff available to support residents and businesses.
Residents can stay informed by visiting the council website at www.tandridge.gov.uk, on its social media channels and by signing up for newsletters at www.tandridge.gov.uk/signup.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Catherine Sayer, said: "I am pleased the government has made its decision and we can now move forward together with reorganisation. Hopefully, it will be simpler for residents because they will only have one council to deal with that is responsible for all services. There will of course be fewer councillors, who will have a heavier workload and it is a concern that local government will get less local.
Another concern for me is the £2bn debt incurred by Woking council in west Surrey. It was good to hear the government will make a repayment of £500 million of this debt and there is no expectation at the moment that the rest will be funded by efficiencies or asset sales in authorities outside of Woking. Tandridge District Council is financially stable and it would be most unfair if residents in Tandridge were to be penalised because of someone else’s debt."