The Charlwood and Horley Act 1974 (1974 c. 11) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that amended the Local Government Act 1972 to move the village of

Charlwood Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surre ...

and the town of

Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own eco ...

from

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

to Surrey. The 1972 Act had provided for the transfer of

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 ...

and the parishes of Charlwood and Horley from Surrey to West Sussex. The transfer was opposed by Surrey County Council, Dorking and Horley Rural District Council and Charlwood and Horley Parish Councils. Arguments against the transfer included the loss of expertise built up by the Surrey local authorities on airport management and planning, loss of territories to school catchment areas and remote administration from

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

. It was also suggested that the areas were likely to be administered as part of Crawley New Town, with which they had no linkage. On 5 December 1971 a demonstration by 1,500 residents disrupted traffic on the main London to Brighton road at the proposed boundary. On 27 January 1972,

Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...

, Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, stated that the transfer of the airport would go ahead, but that the question of whether the two villages would remain in Surrey was not finally decided. Surrey County Council's proposed amendments to keep Gatwick within the county were rejected by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in July 1972, but the council decided to take its case to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. On 17 October 1973, it was announced that the Government would be holding negotiations about the Surrey/West Sussex boundary. The Charlwood and Horley Bill was introduced to Parliament on 31 October 1973. It passed all stages on the last day of the parliamentary session and received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 8 February 1974.''83 bills are lost but three vital measures pass all stages today'', The Times, 8 February 1974 From 1 April 1974 there was a realignment of

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

boundaries, and a new parish was created: *Charlwood in

Mole Valley Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking. The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...

district *Horley in

Reigate and Banstead Reigate and Banstead is a local government district with borough status in east Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Reigate, Redhill, Horley and Banstead. The borough borders the Borough of Crawley (in West Sussex) to the south, the Boro ...

district *

Salfords and Sidlow Salfords and Sidlow is a civil parish in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England. It has a population of 3,069. The parish includes the villages of Salfords and Sidlow Sidlow is a mainly rural, lightly populated village in the paris ...

: created from parts of Charlwood and Horley parishes, and included in Reigate and Banstead The portion included in West Sussex became part of the

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 unpa ...

of Crawley district.

External links

The Act homepage on legislation.gov.uk

References

{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1974 Local government legislation in England and Wales History of Surrey History of West Sussex Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England 1970s in Surrey 1970s in West Sussex