We have reviewed all our fees and charges to make sure that MVDC is recovering the cost of providing services. This also included an exercise to look at our charges when compared to those of other authorities.

It was agreed at a meeting of Council in February 2024 that a general increase in fees and charges income of 5% would be applied. However, the actual amount for individual charges may have increased more or less than this percentage depending on costs along with the customer demand / relevant market rates.

The new pricing strategy ensures that our pricing remains consistent across MVDC services. We’re confident that, at the very least, we can cover our costs, ensuring our residents receive value for money. Many of our fees and charges are set by law  so there is little maneuver.

We don’t always cover our costs because of market pressures, but as far as possible, we seek to recover the costs of the service from the customer.

We have also implemented a new Street Trading Policy, which will offer more flexibility and options for our street traders.

We have increased council tax premiums for some empty homes and new legislation will enable a premium to be introduced for second homes.

Our Council Tax support scheme hasn’t been reviewed for many years, so we’ll look at this to ensure that it remains fit for purpose.

We want our residents to get great customer service online, over the phone, and in-person, while making the best use of our resources.

We’re aiming to provide additional fast and simple online services for payments, applications and reporting, all supported by an enhanced customer contact model. Our trained Customer Service team  will be answering as many questions as possible at first point of contact, so our colleagues who work in specific departments will have more time to focus on complex issues.

We’ve also upgraded our digital service offering with My Mole Valley – a one stop shop for all your digital needs – from signing up for newsletters, receiving planning updates, checking local information, bin collection updates and utilising My Account which lets you monitor your cases and complete your council business quicker!

We appreciate that our digital offering might not be for everyone or that some residents might need a bit of help with finding their way around.

Be assured that support is available for navigating the digital world. You can always ring our customer support team on 01306 885001 and they will be happy to guide you through MVDC’s digital journey or simply just pop into our offices in Pippbrook – we have two training computers and friendly staff available to help in our reception.

There are also a variety of organisations in Mole Valley and Surrey dedicated to your connectivity through digital training sessions, the loan of devices, and much more. Explore them here.

We know that teamwork provides better results, and this is why we’ll be exploring new partnership opportunities to ensure better value for money and outcomes for residents.

We’ll be working much closer with other authorities to share costs, upgrade our systems, improve our processes, and increase online service availability. We’re already providing joint services in Environmental Health, including the Animal Warden (in collaboration with Tandridge District Council) and Mole Valley Life (working with Elmbridge Borough Council, Tandridge District Council and Reigate & Banstead Brough Council).

We are seeking another tenant for our Pippbrook offices which is already shared with Surrey Police, Surrey County Council and Triple Care.  Having relocated colleagues from Mole Valley Life from Park House, Leatherhead, we are seeking an occupier for that building to contribute additional income to help fund service delivery.  We are continuing to analyse the opportunity to relocate our waste depot from Dorking to Leatherhead and for it to be shared with Elmbridge Borough Council.  We are also continuing to review the wider portfolio to identify those assets which are surplus to requirements and for which either a change of use or disposal are recommended.

Those who have had the pleasure of visiting Dorking Halls will know what a great asset it is, but our aim is to keep improving the offer.

We are focussing on a range of improvements including offering booking protection, so you don’t lose out financially if you can’t attend an event.

We are expanding our programme of live events, hosting a wider range of community groups and small group activities, we have changed our drink supplier, and we have redesigned our Friends scheme.

Dorking Halls is closed until December 2024 while the main work to replace the plaster ceiling in the Grand Hall takes place. Whilst the ceiling was safe, keeping it safe requires a very costly regime of ongoing inspections and maintenance work which was not sustainable in the long term. For more information about the closure, visit here.

We are looking for areas where mobile trading and activity provision can be put in our parks to support our residents, businesses and visitors better.

Our cemeteries have expanded, allowing more plots to become available.