South West Woking Lib Dems

19/10/2026

The public consultation on the emerging West Surrey Corporate Strategy is now live.

The strategy will help set the priorities for the new council from April 2027. We want to understand what matters most to residents, what needs to change and where the council should focus its limited resources.

This is not the finished strategy. Alongside the public consultation, there will be further engagement with councillors, staff, community groups, seldom-heard residents and strategic partners before the final version is considered in February.

The consultation closes on 15 November. Please take a look and have your say here:
https://www.surreylgrhub.gov.uk/west-strategy

08/10/2026

Today we began the detailed work on West Surrey Council’s first budget. The early figures are still being checked, but it is clear that bringing together different services, contracts, assets and financial commitments will present both opportunities and challenges.
.. and for the record, it was, indeed, a long morning.

Arriving at Woking station this morning and walking down to the borough council building, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a more fitting place to discuss the first complete look at the West Surrey budget position — bringing together the latest financial positions of Waverley, Guildford, Surrey Heath, Woking, Runnymede, Spelthorne and, of course, Surrey County Council.

…it’s going to be a long morning, I suspect…

Cllr Paul Follows
Leader, West Surrey Council

02/10/2026

A busy week, much of it focused on the detailed work needed to prepare West Surrey Council for April 2027.

At Thursday’s extraordinary Shadow Executive meeting (held in Woking's council chamber), we considered how six different Council Tax Reduction schemes could be brought together into one consistent scheme. This requires a difficult balance between fairness, supporting people on low incomes and ensuring the new council is financially sustainable. Importantly, residents will have the opportunity to have their say through consultation.

And looking ahead to next week, we're all looking forward to our social at The Rowbarge in St Johns on Wednesday 7th at 7pm. Everyone welcome for an informal evening.

27/09/2026

24/09/2026

18/09/2026

This week, Woking Borough Council approved a further series of significant asset sales as we continue to deliver our Improvement and Recovery Plan.

The council has now completed or exchanged asset sales totalling £72 million, with a further £54 million currently under offer. The proceeds will be used to reduce our overall debt burden and strengthen the council’s financial position ahead of the creation of West Surrey Council in April 2027.

These decisions are about more than financial recovery. The sale of sites such as the Triangle will also create opportunities for new investment, regeneration, redevelopment and economic growth across the borough.

As ever, there is always more to do, but this is further evidence of the substantial progress being made by officers, commissioners, members and the current administration to put Woking on a more sustainable footing ahead of LGR.

Read the full announcement: https://www.woking.gov.uk/newsroom/2026/major-asset-sales-continue-councils-financial-recovery

18/09/2026

🏛️ WEST SURREY SHADOW EXECUTIVE –
ℹ️ A QUICK (ISH) UPDATE

A pretty substantial meeting of the West Surrey Shadow Executive today, with a lot of the detailed work of creating the new council now moving forward.

Over 250 pages of material but there are a few things worth flagging 👇

🏘️ NEW TOWN AND PARISH COUNCILS

We agreed the arrangements for a number of new parish councils across West Surrey.

The one likely to attract the most attention is Guildford, where we are progressing the creation of Guildford Town Council.

But Guildford isn't the only change. There will also be new parish arrangements in Englefield Green in Runnymede, Bagshot & Lightwater and Windlesham in Surrey Heath, and Pyrford in Woking.

These are matters that the respective boroughs have formally asked us to consider, and West Surrey is now responding to those requests as part of the LGR process.

The new parish councils are due to come into existence on 1 April 2027, with their first elections taking place in May 2027.

I think this is important. Larger unitary councils need genuinely local democracy underneath them — somewhere local to go, and councillors who understand the communities they represent.

💷 FINANCES AND ASSETS

There is a huge amount of work going on here too. Far too much for a short post.

The existing West Surrey borough and district councils will merge into West Surrey Council (aggregation) and services provided by Surrey County Council will largely be split West and East (disaggregation).

That means determining where our staff will work and who for and sorting out contracts, buildings, IT, equipment, income, liabilities, assets and government funding.

It's not particularly glamorous work — but getting it wrong would be very visible indeed.

My next post will start to discuss our emerging budget position and the inherited debt.

📜 AND THEN THERE WAS THE REST...

We also agreed the arrangements around the Combined Foundation Strategic Authority (FSA), including our joint response to the Government consultation, alongside the Section 16 (the start of the legal framework between West and East assigning assets) and inter-authority arrangements (the start of the legal framework between East and West about how we manage shared services or assets), electoral management, Charter Trustees and a number of other pieces of LGR machinery.

Most of this probably won't make anyone's dinner-table conversation — but it all matters.

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: The existing county, borough and district councils remain responsible for delivering services until 31 March 2027. West Surrey Council takes over responsibility for services from 1 April 2027 — not before.

There is still a huge amount to do. But we're getting on with it. 🙂

Cllr Paul Follows
Leader, West Surrey Council

06/09/2026

This week saw a significant and very welcome milestone in Woking’s financial recovery.

The Government has begun repaying £500 million of the council’s historic debt. An initial £8 million loan was settled on 1 September, with the remaining £492 million due to be repaid by the end of March 2027.

This support demonstrates the Government’s confidence in the progress we have made. Reducing the debt will also lower the associated borrowing costs, improving our financial position and helping us enter the new council on the strongest and most sustainable footing possible.

There remains more to do, but this milestone reflects the considerable progress made by our officers, commissioners, members and the current administration.

Read the full announcement:
https://www.woking.gov.uk/newsroom/2026/government-begins-repayment-wokings-historic-debt

02/09/2026

Our monthly councillor surgery is coming up this weekend.
If there’s something on your mind, local issues, casework, ideas, or just a question about what’s happening in Woking then do come along and have a chat.

📍 Usual place
🕙 Usual time

04/08/2026

There is an amber heat-health alert in place for Surrey until 9am Wednesday 5 August.

Avoid extreme physical exertion - if you can’t avoid strenuous outdoor activity, keep it for cooler parts of the day such as early morning or evening. Drink plenty of fluids and avoid excess alcohol. Stay dehydrated and carry water with you.

More info: https://orlo.uk/Ut9uS