In July 2025, Mole Valley District Council agreed to undertake a Community Governance Review of Mole Valley.

A district wide Stage One Consultation was undertaken (July 2025 to October 2025) to seek the views of local communities as to what changes, if any,  they may wish to see at a parish governance level.

The results of this consultation have been analysed and used to assist Councillors in developing draft recommendations for each area of Mole Valley. These were approved by Council on 13 January 2026 and will go out to a Second Stage Consultation to seek the views of local residents and stakeholder groups (such as Parish Council’s and Resident Associations’).

The full Council report can be accessed on MVDC’s website

This review follows a Council decision on 15 July 2025. Government guidance recommends reviews every 10–15 years, and Mole Valley hasn’t had a full review in that time.

Previous reviews in Bookham and Dorking didn’t lead to new parishes, but views may have changed—so these areas are included again.

Following Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), retaining existing parish councils and establishing new ones could strengthen community engagement and cohesion, while enhancing local democracy.

MVDC wishes to make sure that the existing governance arrangement across the district continue to be robust and representative.

A Community Governance Review cannot:   

• change the style (e.g. town, parish, neighbourhood, community or village council) of existing councils; 
• influence or change the amount of money that an existing parish or town council raises through council tax (known as ‘precept’);
• change the number of councillors on the county or district councils; or, 
• change the boundaries of the District or County council wards or make any alterations to MP constituencies. 

The draft recommendations are currently out to public consultation which closes on Friday 20th February 2026.

All households within Mole Valley will receive postal communication on the draft recommendation for their town or village.

Should you wish to make any comments on the draft recommendations, please email cgr@molevalley.gov.uk or write to Community Governance Review, Mole Valley District Council, Pippbrook, Dorking RH4 1SJ.

A Parish Council is made up of Parish Councillors who are elected by the local community every four years. These Councillors come from the local area, so in creating a Parish Council, there needs to be people willing to stand for election to represent the community.  

A Parish Council is legally required to have a minimum of five Parish Councillors.  

 It will have regular meetings to discuss issues which affect the area and members of the public are welcome to attend. A Parish Council is supported by a clerk, who implements decisions, provides independent advice and administrative support. 

You can find out more about creating parish councils here

A Parish Council is a Local Council, that is able to deliver services at a very local level. It is separate to a church (ecclesiastical) parish. They have differing responsibilities and can have different boundaries.

Parish Councils represent the interests of their community by providing services to meet local needs and improving the quality of life and community wellbeing. They are consulted on planning applications in their area and may be responsible for a number of services including: 

• allotments
• public clocks
• bus shelters
• community centres
• play areas and play equipment
• public toilets
• grants to help local organisations
• consultation on neighbourhood planning
• could have powers to organise street cleaning, local festivals and celebrations

Additionally, a town council can appoint a mayor.

Before doing so, the Parish Council would need to determine that it has the necessary resources to run and maintain any assets. 

Further information is available on the Government website GOV.UK

Parish councils receive an automatic share of Community Infrastructure Levy they can spend on their infrastructure priorities should they wish. Further information about CIL can be found here.

It would be for the new Parish Councillors, once elected, to consider which services the Parish Council would provide and how it would fund these.

When first established a new parish would have minimal responsibility for service delivery. The Parish Councillors would have to

• decide what services they wish to offer
• seek any necessary consents from the incoming East Surrey unitary authority, landowners, or other organisations
• then decide how much to raise via council tax to fund those services.

In addition to the traditional styling of ‘parish’, the review could recommend that any new council be known as 

•  Community Council; 

•  Neighbourhood Council; or 

•  Village Council. 

 Town Councils 

Town Councils cannot be created through a Community Governance Review. However, once created, a new ‘Parish’ Council could decide to change its designation to ‘Town Council’ or any of the alternative styles. 

They all have the same statutory powers, but a Town Council can appoint a Town Mayor. 

The convenience and quality of services provided at parish level is an important consideration. A CGR will need to consider how local services for new and existing residents would be affected, and whether change would improve the capacity of a Parish Council to deliver better services and to represent the community’s interests more effectively. It will be important to consider whether users of parish services will have a democratic voice in the decisions that affect them, as well as a fair share of the costs.

A Parish Council is funded by a precept. This charge is added to your Council Tax bill. The amount you pay will depend on the size to the Parish Council, the number of houses in the parish and the Council Tax Banding of your property.

In the first year, it is anticipated that this precept will be between £20 and £80 per annum. The Parish Council would then be able to increase its precept annually. More information on the parish precept can be found in the ‘frequently asked questions’ section.

There is no cap on the minimum or maximum precept, or how much it can change in any one year. The Parish Council could increase its precept each year to fund more services or lower it if providing less services.

The newly elected Parish Councillors would need to:

• decide what services they wish to offer
• seek any necessary consents from the incoming East Surrey unitary authority, landowners, or other organisations
• then decide how much to raise via council tax to fund those services.

Parish Councillors are not usually paid an allowance but may be able to claim limited expenses.

Consideration should be given to the difficulty of attracting sufficient candidates to stand for election. In some parishes, this has led to repeated uncontested elections and/or a need to co-opt members in order to fill vacancies. A parish council’s budget and planned, or actual, level of service provision may also be important factors in reaching conclusions on council size.

Wards divide a parish into smaller areas for electing councillors.

The aim is to make sure everyone’s vote carries equal weight and that no area is over or under-represented.

As the review covers the whole of Mole Valley, it might not be possible for Council representatives to attend meetings of all interested community groups within the consultation period, but do let us know and we can see what can be accommodated.

If you would like further information on the review or have questions which have not be covered in our FAQ’s please do contact us at cgr@molevalley.gov.uk for assistance.

No, a CGR can only consider parish boundaries.

Every CGR is different. The costs will not be known until after a Review has been completed. This can take up to 12 months. Mole Valley District Council has an approved budget to cover the costs related to the CGR.

Once this second consultation stage of the CGR is completed on 20th February 2026, all poll responses and other comments received as part of the consultation process will be considered.

A final set of recommendations will be put forward to the Devolution Working Group and Full Council for consideration and approval in March 2026.

The first set of elections on new Parish Council boundaries would be held on 6 May 2027 to coincide with the next set of scheduled Parish and Town Council elections.

A CGR is a local review looking at of how local communities are represented and whether changes are needed. This could include:

• Creating, merging or changing parish boundaries
• Naming new parishes or changing their style
• Reviewing the number of parish councillors or warding arrangements
• Considering other local governance options

Please note, the CGR cannot decide if a parish becomes a Town Council – that’s up to the parish itself once it’s formed.

The aim of the CGR is to ensure local governance:

• Represents the local community
• Works well and is easy to manage
• Brings people together

LGR is a process where all county and district and borough councils in an area are reorganised into fewer, unitary councils. UK government published proposals on LGR on 16 December 2024 as part of The English Devolution White Paper, covering plans to reform local government. A public consultation asking people to share their views on the future of Surrey is live until 5 August and you can find out more information on our LGR page.