A White Paper has just been published announcing plans to abolish District Councils and merge both District and County Councils into one large Unitary Authority. This move will save an alleged £3 billion. Surrey is one amongst several similar areas with District and County Councils.

It is being argued though that one Unitary Authority stretching from Farnham to Oxted would be too vast for efficiency and a better solution would be to split Surrey into two Authorities. This leaves the most likely option of merging the current boroughs of Tandridge, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead, and Epsom & Ewell, into East Surrey Council, with Woking, Guildford, Spelthorne, Runnymede, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Elmbridge, forming West Surrey Council.

The white paper argues: “Unitary councils can lead to better outcomes for residents, save significant money which can be reinvested in public services, and improve accountability with fewer politicians who are more able to focus on delivering for residents.”