Surrey Heath

Surrey Heath is a local government district with Borough status in Surrey, England. Its Council is based in Camberley. Much of the area is within the Metropolitan Green Belt.

This article is about the district. For the constituency, see Surrey Heath (UK Parliament constituency).

Surrey Heath District
Non-metropolitan district
Motto(s): 
Festina diligenter
(Latin: Make haste carefully)
Surrey Heath shown within Surrey
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East England
Non-metropolitan countySurrey
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQCamberley
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodySurrey Heath Borough Council
 • LeadershipCllr Alan McClafferty (Conservative)
 • MPsMichael Gove (Conservative)
Area
 • Total36.7 sq mi (95.1 km2)
Area rank220th (of 317)
Population
 (mid-2019 est.)
 • Total89,305
 • Rank273rd (of 317)
 • Density2,400/sq mi (940/km2)
 • Ethnicity[1]
95.4% White
2.1% S.Asian
1.0% Black
1.4% Chinese or Other
1.4% Mixed Race
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code43UJ (ONS)
E07000214 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSU8752760851
Websitewww.surreyheath.gov.uk

History
St Saviour's Church, Valley End, Windlesham

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of Frimley and Camberley Urban District, and Bagshot Rural District. The Borough acquired its name because it includes extensive areas of heath and woodland including Chobham Common and Lightwater Country Park.

Bagshot Rural District

Bagshot Rural District formed the largest part of Surrey Heath. The villages and hamlets in Bagshot rural district comprised Lightwater, Bagshot, Windlesham, Chobham including West End and Bisley.

The motto for the district was Festina Prudenter granted on 20 July 1960.

On the crest, the gold and white background was from the arms of Chertsey Abbey, which owned and is connected with the history of much of the district - Bagshot was included in a grant to the Abbey as early as 933. The stag's head on the crest refers to Bagshot Park, a royal demesne since Norman times and hunting ground of the Stuart kings, and also to the fact that much of the area was formerly part of Windsor Forest. The grenade on the crest refers to the area's military associations, in particular the former military camp at Chobham and the lion recalls the area's royal links. The fir cones and mound of heathland refers to Bagshot Heath, and the falcon is derived from the supporters of the Earls of Onslow.[2]

The Surrey Heath community have been recognised for one of the most organised volunteer initiatives to the COVID-19 outbreak through their Surrey Heath Prepared organisation.[3]

Governance

The Borough is governed by Surrey Heath Borough Council, where the current breakdown of seat alloactions is:[4]

  • Conservatives 16
  • Liberal Democrats 9
  • Independent 6
  • Green Party 2
  • Labour Party 1

Parish councils in Surrey Heath are in Bisley with the chairman being Cllr Barry Woodhead; Chobham with the chairman being Cllr Les Coombs; West End with the chairman being Cllr David Elliott and Windlesham (which includes Lightwater and Bagshot) where the chairman is Cllr Keith Hand.[5]

Politics

For detailed election results see Surrey Heath Borough Council elections.

In 2014, the British Election Study named Surrey Heath as the most right-wing constituency in the country.[6]

In 2016 the Conservative council approved the £110 million purchase of the Square Shopping centre in Camberley, through the purchase of an offshore trust based in Jersey (a condition of the vendor), whilst Surrey Heath Borough Council owns the trust, it has no direct control over the asset and depends on unknown trustees to manage the assets of the trust.[7][8]

In June 2016 Conservative Councillor Daniel Robert Adams attended court for non-payment of council tax,[9] in the same financial year he received two allowances (a basic and a special allowance) totalling £6400.40 from Surrey Heath Council.[10]

In 2019, the council's accounts report property investment assets valued at £83 million, a reported loss of £27 million.[7][8]

In 2019 it was revealed the Chief Executive, Karen Whelan had her pay increased by over 30% to £158,000 making it higher than the then PM Theresa May, the increase was authorised by the Conservative Council leader Moira Gibson.[11]

The 2 May 2019 borough elections produced 18 Conservative, 10 Liberal Democrat, 4 Independent councillors, 2 Green and 1 Labour, leaving the Conservatives with a majority of one, their smallest ever.[12]

The parish elections also 7 Independent councillors for Bisley Parish council and 13 Conservative, 3 Green, 2 Independent and 1 Liberal Democrat for Windlesham Parish Council.[13]

In October 2019 it was reported that the Chief Executive had been placed on special leave despite speculation she had been suspended.[14][15]

In January 2020, the council received an independent report from law firm Browne Jacobson, for undisclosed ongoing matters the council has been advised not to release the report, at this time there is no report of Karen Whelan having left the pay of the council.[16]

In January 2020 the Conservative leader and council leader, Richard Brooks resigned along with the deputy leader Charlotte Morley, following a unanimous vote of no confidence in the leader from the Conservative council group.[16]

In January Alan McClafferty was elected as the new Conservative leader and council leader, sacking a number of Conservative front benchers including gaff prone Paul Deach, whose campaign was blamed for the LibDems successes.[17]

On the 3rd February 2020 an individual from a Surrey Heath Borough Council Internet connection edited the Surrey Heath Wikipedia page by remove substantial amounts of independently cited facts about the council.[18]

Geography

The area forms the heart of the heath that spans Esher, Oxshott, Weybridge, Wisley, all around Woking, Brookwood, Deepcut, Pirbright, Frimley, Lightwater, Camberley, Chobham Common, Virginia Water and Ottershaw. It is made up of naturally wet, very acid sandy and loamy soil, which is just 1.9% of English soil and 0.2% of Welsh soil, which gives rise to pines and coniferous landscapes, such as pioneered at Wentworth and Foxhills estate (now spa, hotel, restaurant and golf club) by pro-American independence statesman Charles James Fox.[19] In geology it gives rise to the name, Bagshot Formation.

The western section of the district is largely urbanised, with heaths nonetheless providing substantial green buffer around Camberley, Lightwater, Deepcut, Frimley, Frimley Green and Mytchett. The east of the district is less urbanised, and contains Surrey Heath's four civil parishes:[20]

Within the borough there are five Sites of Special Scientific Interest, four of which are part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area of European Importance as a habitat for certain endangered bird species; these make up some of the six Wildlife Reserves managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust in Surrey Heath.

Notable people

Twinning

Surrey Heath is twinned with Sucy-en-Brie, France, and Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany.[21]

Energy policy
See also: Energy efficiency in British housing

In May 2006, a report commissioned by British Gas showed that housing in Surrey Heath produced the 3rd highest average carbon emissions in the country at an average of 7,477 kg of carbon dioxide per dwelling.[22]

Opinion poll

Surrey Heath was voted the 6th best place to live in Channel 4's 2007 Location, Location, Location 'best and worst' survey.

References
  1. "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
  2. "CIVIC HERALDRY OF ENGLAND AND WALES-SURREY (OBSOLETE)". www.civicheraldry.co.uk.
  3. Times <info@bylinetimes.com> (https://bylinetimes.com/), Byline (17 April 2020). "The Coronavirus Crisis: Keeping Faith with NHS Volunteers While Community Initiatives Blossom". Byline Times. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  4. "Your Councillors". www.surreyheath.gov.uk. Surrey Heath Borough Council. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  5. "Surrey Heath Councillors".
  6. Wheeler, Brian (1 December 2014). "Strange reasons why people vote" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. Parker, Graham (9 November 2018). "Surrey Heath stands by £110m purchase of Camberley centre". Property Week. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  8. "Surrey Heath Borough Council Financial Statements 2018-9 (draft) page 13" (PDF). Surrey Heath Borough Council. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  9. Dobinson, Isabel (12 December 2017). "Five councillors summonsed to court for not paying council tax". getsurrey. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  10. "Surrey Heath Borough Council member allowances paid in FY 16-17" (PDF). Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  11. Jubert, Jamie (2 August 2019). "Council's chief's pay packet sky rockets 30%". getsurrey. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  12. Heath, Surrey [@Surreyheath] (3 May 2019). "All results for the Borough Elections have now been declared. Here's what the political makeup of the Council now looks like... / #LE19 #localelections2019 @YourVote_UK @ElectoralCommUK #surreyheath #declarationpic.twitter.com/ryh1LHVBgd" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. Heath, Surrey [@Surreyheath] (3 May 2019). "It's a wrap! All Parish results now declared! / #LE19 #localelections2019 @YourVote_UK @ElectoralCommUK #surreyheath #declarationpic.twitter.com/ELkSbY5bbW" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. Phillips, Jamie (4 October 2019). "Council chief exec on leave while pay investigation takes place". getsurrey. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  15. "Under fire chief on 'period of leave'". Local Government Chronicle. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  16. Boyd, Alex (20 January 2020). "Council leader and deputy leader resign with no explanation". getsurrey. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  17. joannea (30 January 2020). "New leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council elected". www.surreyheath.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  18. "Surrey Heath: Revision history", Wikipedia, retrieved 6 February 2020
  19. "Soilscapes soil types viewer - National Soil Resources Institute. Cranfield University". www.landis.org.uk.
  20. Surrey Council Archived 26 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  21. "About Surrey Heath".
  22. Centrica plc Archived 26 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Britishgasnews.co.uk (2013-02-27). Retrieved on 2013-07-17.

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