Mole Valley is a local government district in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. Its council is based in

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

, and the district's other town 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-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...

. The largest villages are

Ashtead Ashtead is a village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 road (Great Britain), A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on the northern sl ...

, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. Most of the district is on the escarpments of or adjoins the Surrey Hills, a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

, which cover parts of 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 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

and Greensand Ridge, 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 central London. It reaches above sea level, and is the second highest point in southeast England, aft ...

, Polesden Lacey and Box Hill. Denbies Wine Estate, the largest

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

in the country, is on the hills north-west of Dorking. The

Pilgrims' Way A pilgrims' way or pilgrim way is a standard route that pilgrims take when they go on a pilgrimage in order to reach their destination – usually a holy site or place of worship. These sites may be towns or cities of special significance such a ...

footpath runs along the North Downs. There are stations on the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

–

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

–

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

railways, and in the northern third, a

commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

stopping-service pattern line,

–

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west 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 nam ...

(via Epsom) line. The A24 road and the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring 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 th ...

are the main thoroughfares and relative to London the incidence of car ownership is high. Between 2011 and its final iteration in 2019, the area hosted hill-focused sub-laps of the London–Surrey Classic cycling tour, an event established as preparation for the visit to Mole Valley of the 2012 Olympic Games Road Races. The neighbouring districts are Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead,

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, Waverley,

, Elmbridge and

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

, the latter being a

London borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...

History

The district was created 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 ...

, covering three former districts which were all abolished at the same time: * Dorking and Horley Rural District (except Horley and Salfords and Sidlow which went to Reigate and Banstead and parts of the parishes of Charlwood and Horley around

which went to

) * Dorking Urban District * Leatherhead Urban District The new district was named after the River Mole, which flows through the area.

Governance

Mole Valley District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council. Parts of the district are covered by

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2019. The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "Mole Valley" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2012 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 39

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 13 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Surrey County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections. Most of the district lies within the Mole Valley constituency, the exception being

which is within the Epsom and Ewell constituency.

Premises

The council is based at Pippbrook on Reigate Road in Dorking, which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1984. It was built in the grounds of a large Victorian house, called Pippbrook House, which had served as the headquarters of the old Dorking Urban District Council from 1931 and then as Mole Valley District Council's headquarters until the new building opened.

Towns and parishes

The former

Urban District, which included

, Fetcham, Great Bookham and Little Bookham, is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

, as is the majority of the former

Urban District. The rest of the district is covered by

es: * Abinger *

Betchworth Betchworth is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. The village centre is on the north bank of the River Mole and south of the A25 road, almost east of Dorking and west of Reigate. London is north of the ...

* Brockham * Buckland * Capel * Charlwood * Headley * Holmwood *

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

* Mickleham * Newdigate * Ockley * Wotton

Demographics

A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute 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 local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The borough contains the towns of Godalming, Farnham and Haslemere, as well as numerous villages, including the large village of Cranleigh, and s ...

Churches graded II* or above

Emergency services

Mole Valley is served by these emergency services: *

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Counties of England, county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Tim De Meyer. The force has its headquarters at Mount Brown ...

. Dorking Police Station is the lead station in Mole Valley Division, Leatherhead Police Station is now closed. * South East Coast Ambulance Service 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, The district is covered by Surrey Search & Rescue *

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

, Each town has a small

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

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

Freedom of the District

* DMRC Headley Court received the Freedom of the District on 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