Surrey Heath is a local government district with

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle ...

status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cam ...

. Much of the area is within the Metropolitan Green Belt.

History

The 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 ...

, as a merger of Frimley and Camberley Urban District, and Bagshot Rural District. The

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle ...

acquired its name because it includes extensive areas of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

and woodland including

Chobham Common Chobham Common is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chobham in Surrey. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and a national nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area an ...

and Lightwater Country Park.

Bagshot Rural District

Bagshot Rural District formed the largest part of Surrey Heath. The villages and hamlets in Bagshot rural district comprised Lightwater,

Bagshot Bagshot is a town in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. In the past, Bagshot served as an important staging post between London, Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in th ...

Windlesham Windlesham is a village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffix 'ham', the Old Engli ...

, Chobham including

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

and Bisley. The

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mo ...

for the district was ''Festina Prudenter'' granted on 20 July 1960. On the crest, the gold and white background was from the arms of

Chertsey Abbey Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the England, English county of Surrey. It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the s ...

, which owned and is connected with the history of much of the district - Bagshot was included in a grant to the

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

as early as 933. The stag's head on the crest refers to

Bagshot Park Bagshot Park is a royal residence located near Bagshot, a village south of Windsor. It is on Bagshot Heath, a tract of formerly open land in Surrey and Berkshire. Bagshot Park occupies within the designated area of Windsor Great Park. Th ...

, a royal

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

since Norman times and hunting ground of the

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

kings, and also to the fact that much of the area was formerly part of Windsor Forest. The grenade on the crest refers to the area's military associations, in particular the former

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or military operations, operations, and often have t ...

at Chobham and the lion recalls the area's royal links. The fir cones and mound of

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat (ecology), habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great B ...

refers to

Bagshot Heath Swinley Forest is a large expanse of Crown Estate woodland managed by Forestry England mainly within the civil parishes of Windlesham in Surrey and Winkfield and Crowthorne in Berkshire, England. Coverage Situated to the south-west of W ...

, and the

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

is derived from the supporters of the

Earls of Onslow Earl of Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Shropshire and of Clandon Park in the County of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1801 for George Onslow, 4th Baron Onslow. History The Onslow family descends ...

. The Surrey Heath community have been recognised for one of the most organised volunteer initiatives to the COVID-19 outbreak through their Surrey Heath Prepared organisation.

Governance

The local area is governed by Surrey Heath Borough Council with councillors' affiliations as follows: The 2 May 2019 borough elections left the Conservative party with a majority of one, their smallest ever, following a number of by elections and defections they are now in minority administration. For detailed election results, see

Surrey Heath Borough Council elections Surrey Heath Borough Council the local authority for Surrey Heath borough within the county of Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a lar ...

. In 2014, the British Election Study named Surrey Heath as the most

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

constituency in the country.

Parish Councils

The parish council elections resulted in 7 Independent councillors for Bisley Parish council and 13 Conservative, 3 Green, 2 Independent and 1 Liberal Democrat for Windlesham Parish Council. Parish councils in Surrey Heath are in Bisley with the chairman being Cllr Barry Woodhead; Chobham with the chairman being Cllr Les Coombs;

with the chairman being Cllr David Elliott and

(which includes Lightwater and

) where the chairman is Cllr Keith Hand.

Council financial management

In 2016 the Conservative-led council approved the £110 million purchase of the Square Shopping centre in Camberley, through the purchase of an offshore trust based in Jersey (a condition of the vendor). Although Surrey Heath Borough Council owns the trust, it has no direct control over the asset and depends on unknown trustees to manage the assets of the trust. In 2019, the council's accounts report property investment assets valued at £83 million, a reported loss of £27 million.

Reports involving Karen Whelan, former Chief Executive

In January 2019, the then Chief Executive, Karen Whelan, had had her base salary increased from £128,000 by a pay rise of £15,000 back dated to April 2017 with the business case and payroll instruction signed by the then council leader taking her pay for the year to £158,000, this rose to £197,000 when pension contributions were taken into account. The increase had become subject to an independent investigation In August 2019, Private Eye reported Ms Gibson had given an "unlawful £15,000 p.a. pay increase to Ms Whelan in 2019, backdated to April 2017". The additional payment was reportedly due to the council Chief Executive managing the council's commercial property portfolio. In October 2019, Ms Whelan was reported to have been placed on special leave, despite speculation that she had been suspended. In January 2020, the council received a report from an independent investigation into the payments made to Ms Whelan, prepared by law firm Browne Jacobson. Citing undisclosed ongoing matters, Browne Jacobson said the council should not release the report, "either in full or in part". At that time there was no report of Karen Whelan having left the pay of the council. A heavily redacted version of the investigation report was subsequently released, which Private Eye magazine reported in May 2020 "clearly stated the payments

o Ms Whelan O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...

were "''unlawful either for want of

s Gibson's S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histo ...

authority ... or because the relevant procedural requirements were not followed''"". The article also reported "Whelan enjoyed stays in two luxury hotels" which the Browne Jacobson investigation described as "in each case ... outwith the council's policy on overnight accommodation". The article continued "Whelan had told her PA to put her gift and hospitality entries in a separate log from that of other officers" with the Browne Jacobson report noting "It is unclear how inspection would occur if the existence of the separate log was unknown". Local residents started a petition calling on the council to release the non-redacted version of the independent investigation report to the police. Whelan qualified as a solicitor on 4 January 1994. Whelan resigned from her position at the council in 2020, having worked there since 2005 including roles as its Monitoring officer and as an in-house solicitor, serving as CEO since 2010.

Vote of no confidence in council leader (2020)

In January 2020, Conservative and council leader Richard Brooks resigned along with deputy leader Charlotte Morley following a unanimous vote of no confidence in the leader by the Conservative council group. Alan McClafferty was elected as new

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 in ...

leader and council leader, who went on to sack a number of Conservative front benchers.

Councillor's court attendance for non-payment of council tax

In June 2016 Conservative Councillor Daniel Robert Adams attended court for non-payment of council tax. In the same financial year he received two allowances (a basic and a special allowance) totalling £6400.40 from Surrey Heath Council.

Revisions to wiki from Surrey Heath Borough Council IP address

On 3 February 2020 an individual from a Surrey Heath Borough Council Internet connection edited the Surrey Heath

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read ref ...

page and removed substantial amounts of independently cited facts about the council, the source IP address resolves to a Surrey Heath Council Internal system.

COVID-19 Vulnerability and Recovery

In November 2020, the MJ reported that Grant Thornton have privately drawn up COVID-19 vulnerability and recovery indices for the Society of District Council Treasurers.

Geography

The area forms the heart of the heath that spans Esher,

Oxshott Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the large towns of Esher and Leath ...

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

Wisley __NOTOC__ Wisley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England between Cobham and Woking, in the Borough of Guildford. It is the home of the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Garden. The River Wey runs through the village and Ockham ...

, all around

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, Brookwood, Deepcut, Pirbright,

Frimley Frimley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The town is of Saxon origin, although it is not listed in Domesday Book of 1086. Train services to Frimley (on the line between ...

, Lightwater,

, Virginia Water and Ottershaw. It is made up of naturally wet, very acid sandy and loamy soil, which is just 1.9% of English soil and 0.2% of Welsh soil, which gives rise to

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

s and coniferous landscapes, such as pioneered at Wentworth and Foxhills estate (now spa, hotel, restaurant and golf club) by pro-American independence statesman

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

. In geology it gives rise to the name, Bagshot Formation. The western section of the district is largely urbanised, with heaths nonetheless providing substantial green buffer around

, Lightwater, Deepcut,

, Frimley Green and

Mytchett Mytchett is a village in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. It is to the east of Farnborough (in Hampshire), the nearest town. Much of the village dates from the first half of the twe ...

. The east of the district is less urbanised, and contains Surrey Heath's four civil parishes: * Bisley * Chobham (includes Castle Green and Mimbridge) *

(contains also

, Lightwater and Valley End). Within the

there are five Sites of Special Scientific Interest, four of which are part of the Thames Basin

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

s Special Protection Area of European Importance as a

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for certain endangered bird species; these make up some of the six

Wildlife Reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust in Surrey Heath.

Notable people

* Simone Ashley, actress known for her role in Netflix series Bridgerton, was born in

. * Steve Backshall, naturalist and television presenter, best known for the BBC wildlife documentary series, '' Deadly...'', was born in

. * Carl Fletcher, football player and

Plymouth Argyle F.C Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

and

Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth Ba ...

captain, was born in

. * Alan "Howling Laud" Hope, leader of the

Official Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Lord Sutch". It is notable for its ...

, was born in

. * Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex lives at Bagshot Park with his family. * Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar lives at Bagshot Park with her family.

Twinning

Surrey Heath is twinned with Sucy-en-Brie, France, and Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany.

Energy policy

In May 2006, a report commissioned by British Gas showed that housing in Surrey Heath produced the 3rd highest average carbon emissions in the country at an average of 7,477 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 t ...

per dwelling.Centrica plc
. Britishgasnews.co.uk (27 February 2013). Retrieved on 17 July 2013.

Opinion poll

Surrey Heath was voted the 6th best place to live in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's 2007 ''

Location, Location, Location ''Location, Location, Location'' is a British reality property programme that has aired on Channel 4 since 17 May 2000 and is presented by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer. The show follows Allsopp and Spencer as they try to find the perfect ...

'' 'best and worst' survey.

References

External links

Chobham CommonSurrey County Council local pagesSurrey Heath Local History Club
{{Coord, 51.3395, -0.7433, type:adm3rd_dim:15000_region:GB-SRY, display=title Non-metropolitan districts of Surrey Boroughs in England