Surrey County Council

Surrey County Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan county
Leadership
Chair	Saj Hussain, Conservative since 23 May 2023
Leader	Tim Oliver, Conservative since 11 December 2018
Chief Executive(interim)	Michael Coughlin since 1 June 2024
Structure
Seats	81 councillors
Political groups	Administration (44) Conservative(44) Other parties (37) Liberal Democrats(16) Residents(13) Independent(4) Labour(2) Green(2)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	6 May 2021
Next election	1 May 2025
Meeting place
Woodhatch Place,11Cockshot Hill,Reigate,RH28EF
Website
www.surreycc.gov.uk

Surrey County Councilis thecounty councilfor thenon-metropolitan countyofSurrey,England.The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 theConservative Partyhas held the majority. The leader of the council is Tim Oliver.

History

Elected county councils were created in 1889 under theLocal Government Act 1888,taking over many administrative functions which had been performed by unelectedmagistratesat thequarter sessions.In Surrey's case, most such functions in the north-east of the county had already passed to theMetropolitan Board of Works,which had been established in 1856 to administer the urban area ofLondon.Under the 1888 Act, the Metropolitan Board of Works' area became the newCounty of London.The then borough ofCroydonlay outside the County of London, but was considered large enough to run county-level services and so it was made acounty borough.Surrey County Council was elected by and provided services to the rest of the county, which area was termed theadministrative county.

The first elections to the county council were held in January 1889 and it formally came into being on 1 April 1889. On that day it held its first official meeting at theSessions HouseinNewington,which had been the meeting place of the Surrey Quarter Sessions since 1791. Co-incidentally, it was also nearWaterloo station,a major hub for the railways serving Surrey. Sessions House was in the area that had transferred from Surrey to the new county of London. The first chairman was Edward Leycester-Penrhyn, who had been chairman of the quarter sessions since 1861.

In 1965, theLondon Government Act 1963abolished the existing county of London and replaced it with the largerGreater London,which took over more territory in the north-east of Surrey, includingRichmond,Kingston-upon-Thames,WimbledonandSutton.At the same time,StainesandSunbury-on-Thameswere transferred to Surrey fromMiddlesex.In 1974, theLocal Government Act 1972designated Surrey anon-metropolitan county.Prior to the 1974 reforms the lower tier of local government had comprised numerousmunicipal boroughs,urban districtsandrural districts;these were reorganised into elevennon-metropolitan districts.

Governance

Surrey County Council providescounty-levelservices.District-levelservices are provided by the eleven district councils:

• Elmbridge Borough Council
• Epsom and Ewell Borough Council
• Guildford Borough Council
• Mole Valley District Council
• Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
• Runnymede Borough Council
• Spelthorne Borough Council
• Surrey Heath Borough Council
• Tandridge District Council
• Waverley Borough Council
• Woking Borough Council

Much of the county is also covered bycivil parishes,which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

The county council has been underConservativemajority control since 1997.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Party in control		Years
	Conservative	1974–1993
	No overall control	1993–1997
	Conservative	1997–present

Leadership

Theleaders of the councilsince 1997 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Nick Skellett		Conservative	1997	23 Jun 2009
Andrew Povey		Conservative	23 Jun 2009	11 Oct 2011
David Hodge		Conservative	11 Oct 2011	11 Dec 2018
Tim Oliver		Conservative	11 Dec 2018

Composition

Following the2021 electionand subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to January 2024, the composition of the council was:

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	44
	Liberal Democrats	16
	Independent	4
	Residents Associations of Epsom and Ewell	4
	Residents' association	4
	Farnham Residents	3
	Green	2
	Labour	2
	Residents for Guildford and Villages	2
Total		81

The various residents' associations and three of the four independent councillors sit together as a group.The next election is due in 2025.

Elections

See also:Surrey County Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2013 the county has been divided into 81electoral divisions,each of which elects onecouncillor.Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based atWoodhatch PlaceinReigate.The main building there was built in 1999 as the headquarters ofCanon (UK) Limited;the complex also includes a large Georgian house. Woodhatch Place was bought by the council in 2020 and converted to become its headquarters including council chamber and committee rooms.The venue's first full council meeting took place in May 2021.

The council was first headquartered inNewingtonwhere the Surrey Quarter Sessions court had been held since 1791.The council moved to a purpose-built headquarters atCounty Hall,Kingston upon Thamesin 1893.

County Hall, Kingston upon Thames:Council's headquarters 1893–2020

Kingston became part ofGreater Londonin 1965. Despite it no longer being in their administrative area, the council continued to be based at County Hall for another 56 years. In November 2019 Surrey County Council planned it would relocate toWoking.The move to Woking was scrapped in 2020;a move toReigatewas announced instead.

Coat of arms

The escutcheon is described as 'Per pale Azure and Sable two Keys in bend wards upwards and outwards bows interlaced Or between in dexter base a Woolpack and in sinister chief a Sprig of Oak fructed Argent', with the badge 'On a Roundel per pale Azure and Sable in chief a Sprig of Oak fructed Argent and in base two Keys [in saltire] wards upwards and outwards Or'. These arms were granted in 1974.