Mole Valley

For the Westminster Parliament constituency, see Mole Valley (UK Parliament constituency) and Epsom and Ewell (UK Parliament constituency).

Mole Valley District
Non-metropolitan district
Leatherhead High Street
Mole Valley shown within Surrey
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	Surrey
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Dorking
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Mole Valley District Council
• Leadership	Alternative - Sec.31 (TBA (council NOC))
• MPs	Paul Beresford Chris Grayling
Area
• Total	99.7 sq mi (258.3 km2)
Area rank	153rd (of 326) Highest point  : Leith Hill
Population (mid-2014 est.)
• Total	86,234
• Rank	275th (of 326)
• Density	860/sq mi (330/km2)
• Ethnicity	97.4% White
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
• Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
ONS code	43UE (ONS) E07000210 (GSS)
OS grid reference	TQ0496458567
Website	www.molevalley.gov.uk

South Holmwood

Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking.

The two towns in the district are Dorking and Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. The rest of the district includes some of the Surrey Hills AONB, the middle of the district is dominated by the North Downs, including Polesden Lacey, Box Hill, Denbies Wine Estate (the largest vineyard in the country ) and parts of the Pilgrims' Way, the southern third includes Leith Hill and the Greensand Ridge. There are stations on the London–Worthing and Reading–Gatwick Airport railways, and in the northern third, a commuter stopping service from London–Guildford additionally the A24 road and the M25 motorway.

Towns

• Dorking
• Leatherhead

Other settlements

Village	Other Settlements	Civil Parish (where applicable)
Abinger	Abinger Common, Abinger Hammer Forest Green, Walliswood Sutton Abinger and Oakwood Hill	Abinger
Ashtead
Capel	Beare Green Coldharbour	Capel
Betchworth		Betchworth
Brockham	Strood Green	Brockham
Buckland		Buckland
Charlwood		Charlwood
Fetcham
Great Bookham
Headley	Box Hill	Headley
Holmwood - includes Chart Downs, Goodwyns, North, South and Mid		Holmwood
Leigh	Shellwood Cross Dawesgreen	Leigh
Little Bookham
Mickleham		Mickleham
Newdigate	Parkgate	Newdigate
Ockley		Ockley
Ranmore
Westcott
Westhumble
Wotton	Friday Street	Wotton

Governance

See also: Mole Valley local elections

Mole Valley District Council is elected by thirds: one-third of councillors are elected at each election, each serving four year terms; three years out of four having elections.

The council was however elected across all areas in 2000 after major boundary changes to the wards.

Although Mole Valley (UK Parliament constituency) has been Conservative for a long time, Mole Valley District Council has, with Independent/RA and Liberal Democrats, for long periods been under no overall control.

First Elected		Conservative	Labour	Lib Dem	Independent	Other
1999		17	1	16	7	0
2000		19	1	14	7	0
2002		18	1	15	3	4
2003		19	1	15	6	0
2004		19	0	17	5	0
	2006	23	0	15	3	0
	2007	22	0	16	3	0
2008		18	0	17	6 (5 Ashtead Independents + 1 Leatherhead Independent)	0
2010		17	0	18	6 (5 Ashtead Independents + 1 Leatherhead Independent)	0
2012		15	0	19	7 (6 Ashtead Independents + 1 Leatherhead Independent)	0
	2015	23	0	10	6	2

Party control

• 1974–1980: No overall control
• 1980–1982: Independent control
• 1982–1994: No overall control
• 1994-1995: Liberal Democrat control
• 1995-2006: No overall control
• 2006–2008: Conservative control
• 2010–2015: No overall control
• 2015-Present Conservative control

Surrey Council Council

Surrey County Council, elected every four years, obtains six representatives from this area:

First Elected		Member	Ward
	2009	Chris Townsend	Ashtead
	2005	Clare Curran	Bookham and Fetcham West
	2005	Stephen Cooksey	Dorking and the Holmwoods - includes the south of the town and Holmwoods
	2001	Helen Clack	Dorking Rural - comprises villages and farms east of Dorking
		Tim Hall	Leatherhead and Fetcham East
	1993	Hazel Watson	Dorking Hills - comprises the northern part of Dorking town and the farms and villages north & west of Dorking
	2009	Clare Curran	Leatherhead and Fetcham East

History

The district, named after the River Mole, was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the urban districts of Dorking and Leatherhead and most of the Dorking and Horley Rural District.

Churches graded II* or above

St Nicolas, Bookham

St John, Wotton

St Michael, Mickleham

St Michael's Betchworth, 13th century, used in Four Weddings and a Funeral

Church	Place	Listed building Class
St Nicolas	Bookham	I
St Michael	Mickleham	I
St John the Evangelist	Wotton	I
St Michael	Betchworth	I
St Mary & St Nicholas	Leatherhead	II*
St Barnabas	Ranmore Common	II*
St Mary	Pixham	II*
St Martin	Dorking	II*
St Mary	Fetcham	II*
St Giles	Ashtead	II*
St James	Abinger Common	II*
Holy Trinity	Westcott	II*
St Bartholomew	Leigh	II*
St Margaret	Ockley	II*
St John the Baptist	Walliswood	II*

Environmental concerns

In May 2006, a report commissioned by British Gas showed that housing in Mole Valley produced the twentieth highest average carbon emissions in the country at 6,928 kg of carbon dioxide per dwelling.

See also: Energy efficiency in British housing

In 2008 a group of residents got together and formed The Green Mole Forum [1] with the aim of promoting sustainable development in Mole Valley both by providing a hub to help residents, and to lobby the council to undertake more sustainable policies.

Emergency services

Mole Valley is served by these emergency services:

• Surrey Police. 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 (1 mile (2 km) 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, Each town has a small NHS Hospital with no A&E. They are used for outpatients and rehabilitation.

Sources

• Local elections, 1999
• Local elections, 2000
• Local elections, 2002
• Local elections, 2003
• Local elections, 2004

See also

• List of places of worship in Mole Valley

External links

• Mole Valley District Council
• The natural history of the Mole Valley
• The Green Mole Forum