Mole Valley is a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Its council is based in

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

. The other town in the district is

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

. The largest villages are

Ashtead Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on ...

Fetcham Fetcham is a suburban village in Surrey, England west of the town of Leatherhead, on the other side of the River Mole and has a mill pond, springs and an associated nature reserve. The housing, as with adjacent Great Bookham, sits on the lower ...

and

Great Bookham Great Bookham is a village in Surrey, England, one of six semi-urban spring line settlements between the towns of Leatherhead and Guildford. With the narrow strip parish of Little Bookham, it forms part of the Saxon settlement of ''Bocham'' ("the ...

, in the northern third of the district. Most of the district is on the escarpments of or adjoins the

Surrey Hills AONB The Surrey Hills is a Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which principally covers parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge in Surrey, England (approximately one quarter of the land area of the county). The AONB was designated in 1958 ...

(the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...

and

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it runs ...

including locally

Leith Hill Leith Hill in southern England is the highest summit of the Greensand Ridge, approximately southwest of Dorking, Surrey and southwest of Charing Cross, central London. It reaches above mean sea level, above sea level, and is the second highe ...

Polesden Lacey Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties. This Regency house was exp ...

, Box Hill and

Denbies Wine Estate Denbies Wine Estate, near Dorking, Surrey, has the largest vineyard in England, with under vines, representing more than 10 per cent of the plantings in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has a visitors' centre that attracts around 300,000 vis ...

, the largest

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

in the country and several golf courses) The North Downs are followed or parallelled by the

Pilgrims' Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester, Hampshire, Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of compa ...

. There are stations on the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

–

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

–

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

railways, and in the northern third, a commuter stopping-service pattern line,

–

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

(via Epsom) line. The A24 road and the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

are the main thoroughfares and relative to London the incidence of car ownership is high. The area hosts hill-focussed sub-laps of the

London–Surrey Classic The London–Surrey Classic (also known as the RideLondon–Surrey Classic) was an annual men's professional one-day road cycling race, starting and finishing in London and routed via the picturesque Surrey Hills. The first race of its kind wa ...

cycling tour each year.

Towns

Other settlements

Governance

Mole Valley District Council is elected by thirds: one-third of councillors are elected at each election, each serving four year terms; three years out of four having elections. The council was however elected across all areas in 2000 after major boundary changes to the wards. Although

Mole Valley (UK Parliament constituency) Mole Valley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Sir Paul Beresford, a Conservative. Boundaries 1983–1997: The District of Mole Valley, and the Borough of Guildford ward of Tillingbourne. ...

has been Conservative for a long time, Mole Valley District Council has, with Independent/RA and Liberal Democrats, for long periods been under no overall control. Between May 2015 and May 2018, Mole Valley Liberal Democrats gained two council seats in by-elections (Holmwoods June 2015 gain from UKIP, Leatherhead North June 2016 gain from Conservatives), and one Conservative councillor defected to Beare Green Independent (May 2017). The Liberal Democrats then made a net gain of one in May 2018, pushing the Council back into no overall control. However, Conservatives continued to control the administration with the support of the Independents, with three Ashtead Independents becoming members of the Cabinet. The overall composition established in May 2018 is 20 Conservatives, 14 Liberal Democrats, and 7 Independents (6 Ashtead Independents and 1 Beare Green Independent). There are no Labour, UKIP or Green Party councillors.

Party control

* 1974–1980: No overall control * 1980–1982: Independent control * 1982–1994: No overall control * 1994–1995: Liberal Democrat control * 1995–2006: No overall control * 2006–2008:

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

control * 2010–2015: No overall control * 2015–2018: Conservative control * 2018–2019: No overall control * 2019–present: Liberal Democrat control

Surrey County Council

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

, elected every four years, obtains six representatives from this area:

History

The district, named after the

River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey district ...

, was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, by a merger of the urban districts of Dorking and Leatherhead and most of the Dorking and Horley Rural District.

Demographics

Legatum Prosperity Index The Legatum Prosperity Index is an annual ranking developed by the Legatum Institute, an independent educational charity founded and part-funded by the private investment firm Legatum. The ranking is based on a variety of factors including wealth, ...

published by the

Legatum Institute The Legatum Institute is a think tank based in London, UK, headed by Philippa Stroud, Baroness Stroud, a Conservative member of the House of Lords. Its stated aim is to advance the education of the public in national and international political ...

in October 2016 showed Mole Valley as the second most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom, after the nearby

Borough of Waverley The Borough of Waverley is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The borough's headquarters are in the town of Godalming; other notable settlements are the towns of Farnham and Haslemere an ...

Churches graded II* or above

Environmental concerns

In May 2006, a report commissioned by

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

showed that housing in Mole Valley produced the twentieth highest average carbon emissions in the country at 6,928 kg of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

per dwelling. In 2008 a group of residents got together and formed The Green Mole Foru

with the aim of promoting sustainable development in Mole Valley both by providing a hub to help residents, and to lobby the council to undertake more sustainable policies.

Emergency services

Mole Valley is served by these emergency services: *

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Gavin Stephens. Previously the force was led by Nick Ephgrave who left the force ...

. Dorking Police Station is the lead station in Mole Valley Division, Leatherhead Police Station is now closed. *

South East Coast Ambulance Service The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove). It also co ...

The district has two Ambulance Stations – one in North Holmwood ( south of Dorking), and the other in Leatherhead. * Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, The district has two Fire Stations one in North Holmwood and the other in Leatherhead. *

SURSAR Surrey Search and Rescue (SurSAR) is a lowland search and rescue team based in Surrey, United Kingdom, who respond for missing person search, water rescue, drone imaging and other taskings at the request of Surrey Police and Surrey Fire and Resc ...

, The district is covered by Surrey Search & Rescue *

Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

, Each town has a small

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Hospital with no A&E. They are used for outpatients and rehabilitation.

Sources

Local elections, 1999

Local elections, 2000

Local elections, 2002

Local elections, 2003

Local elections, 2004

Freedom of the District

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the District of Mole Valley.

Individuals

Military Units

DMRC Headley Court Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court (abbreviated to DMRC Headley Court, and more commonly known as Headley Court), formerly RAF Headley Court, was an United Kingdom Ministry of Defence facility in Headley, near Epsom, Surrey, Eng ...

: 25 May 2010.

References

External links

Mole Valley District Council
{{Coord, 51, 18, 57.68, N, 0, 29, 37.31, W, region:GB, display=title Non-metropolitan districts of Surrey Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership