Mole Valley

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^[1] ) 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 are the main thoroughfares.

Towns

• Dorking
• Leatherhead

Other settlements^[2]

Governance

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.^[4]

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:

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.

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.^[8]

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

Environmental concerns

In May 2006, a report commissioned by British Gas ^[25] 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.

In 2008 a group of residents got together and formed The Green Mole Forum 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

References

External links

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

Districts of South East England
Berkshire	Bracknell Forest Reading Slough West Berkshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham
Buckinghamshire	Aylesbury Vale Chiltern Milton Keynes South Bucks Wycombe
East Sussex	Brighton and Hove Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Rother Wealden
Hampshire	Basingstoke and Deane East Hampshire Eastleigh Fareham Gosport Hart Havant New Forest Portsmouth Rushmoor Southampton Test Valley Winchester
Isle of Wight	Isle of Wight
Kent	Ashford Canterbury Dartford Dover Gravesham Maidstone Medway Sevenoaks Shepway Swale Thanet Tonbridge and Malling Tunbridge Wells
Oxfordshire	Cherwell Oxford South Oxfordshire Vale of White Horse West Oxfordshire
Surrey	Elmbridge Epsom and Ewell Guildford Mole Valley Reigate and Banstead Runnymede Spelthorne Surrey Heath Tandridge Waverley Woking
West Sussex	Adur Arun Chichester Crawley Horsham Mid Sussex Worthing

Coordinates: 51°18′57.68″N 0°29′37.31″W / 51.3160222°N 0.4936972°W / 51.3160222; -0.4936972