Surrey council reorganisation: the questions businesses should be asking
In less than five months, the way Surrey is run will change more than it has in fifty years. On 1 April 2027, Surrey County Council and all 11 district and borough councils, including Mole Valley District Council, will be replaced by two new unitary authorities: East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council. On 28 October, the Budget also confirmed that the government is in the final stages of agreeing a mayor for Surrey. Surrey council reorganisation is no longer a proposal. The real question is whether it will be good for local businesses and residents, and what we all need to ask to find out.
What is happening with Surrey council reorganisation
East Surrey Council will cover Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge.
West Surrey Council will cover Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking.
Councillors for both were elected in May 2026 and have been running as shadow authorities ever since, preparing for handover.
Map: how Surrey divides into East Surrey and West Surrey councils from 1 April 2027. Source: Shaping Surrey’s Future, Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation Final Plan, May 2025 (Part 1).
What is a unitary council? It is a single local authority responsible for all local services in its area, from bins, planning and licensing to roads, schools and social care. It replaces the current two tiers of county and district councils.
A mayor would be a separate, county-wide layer above the two councils. The Budget also set out plans for regional authorities to keep all business rates income by the end of the decade and to charge an overnight visitor levy.
How the decision on Surrey council reorganisation was made
Surrey County Council elections due in May 2025 were postponed, at the county council’s request, so reorganisation could proceed. Two rival plans then went to government: two councils, proposed by Surrey County Council, Elmbridge and Mole Valley, or three councils, backed by most other district and borough councils.
A government consultation from 17 June to 5 August 2025 drew 5,617 responses. On average, 51% of answers supported the three-council plan and 19% the two-council plan, and responding businesses leaned the same way. In October 2025 the government chose two councils, citing financial sustainability.
On 7 May 2026, voters elected 162 councillors to replace the 534 on Surrey’s 12 current councils. The Liberal Democrats won both: 40 of 72 seats in East Surrey and 56 of 90 in West Surrey. Turnout was below half in each, at around 49% and 46%.
Why it matters to Surrey businesses
Business rates, licensing, planning, environmental health, commercial waste and trading standards will all move to a new council, bringing new accounts, contacts and processes.
Supporters argue that one council instead of two tiers should be simpler, cheaper to run and better able to speak for Surrey in Westminster. A mayor could bring control over transport, skills and investment. These gains are possible but not automatic. The county council’s own final plan estimated one-off set-up costs of around £85 million and net savings of £1 million to £46 million a year, and in its most cautious scenario the change is still a net cost after seven years. How will savings be tracked and reported publicly?
What has happened elsewhere in England
Buckinghamshire became a single unitary council in 2020. Its leader credits the change with savings it could not otherwise have made, but its own five-year review found transformation still under way, old council cultures lingering and local scrutiny in need of deliberate design.
Somerset merged five councils in 2023 and reports savings well above target, yet an independent CIPFA review called the business case weak and found savings slower to arrive than promised. The lesson is not that reorganisation fails, but that structure alone does not deliver results. Leadership, culture and genuine local engagement do.
Questions to ask about Surrey council reorganisation
How is this being communicated to businesses and residents?
With fewer than five months to go, official messaging still says full details will be shared in due course. The final plan sent to government in May 2025 records town hall sessions for over 2,700 staff and leaflets to 481,000 households. Its account of business engagement is a single line: updates through established networks and three partner briefings. Businesses need a plain-English guide to what changes for them and when.
What will a mayor for Surrey do, and how will they be held to account?
At our events, one question comes up again and again: will a mayor be a well-paid, high-profile role without clear accountability for results? National experts have warned that accountability arrangements for England’s mayors are underpowered. What powers and budget would a Surrey mayor hold? Who sets the salary? What measurable targets would they publish, and how would scrutiny be resourced so it has real teeth?
Who will staff the new councils, and how are roles filled?
Most existing staff will transfer on their current terms under TUPE employment rules, with restructuring after April 2027. East Surrey’s chief executive was appointed through a national campaign at £205,000 to £225,000. As roles are restructured, will they be open to everyone well suited to them, not only existing staff? Are vacancies advertised widely, and is recruitment genuinely designed to find the best people for each post?
Will the new councils work with the business groups already supporting SMEs?
Surrey has chambers of commerce large and small, the Federation of Small Businesses, Enterprise Nation and many local networking groups, all close to smaller firms. Councils also fund their own business support programmes and events. When the new councils choose what to fund, are the best programmes being thoroughly researched, and is proper due diligence done on the quality of delivery? Will there be a standing business forum where independent organisations have a seat at the table?
Why Mole Valley Chamber believes collaboration matters
Mole Valley Chamber believes that councils, chambers of commerce and other business organisations working together is one of the most important steps towards making Surrey a stronger place to do business.
Some of this already happens. Surrey Chambers of Commerce, for example, works with the county council. Smaller local chambers, however, are largely left to their own devices. They are rarely invited into discussions, planning or brainstorming sessions, and are seldom asked to help deliver strategy to the businesses they serve, members and non-members alike.
We see this as a missing piece of the jigsaw, and not only in Surrey. Across the UK, local business groups are largely absent from the higher-level strategies that begin in government and filter down through regional and county structures. Local chambers know their high streets, their members and their challenges. Bringing them in would help strategy reach the businesses it is meant to serve.
Surrey council reorganisation FAQs for businesses
Your current council keeps running all services until 31 March 2027. East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council take over on 1 April 2027.
Keep paying your current borough or district council until 31 March 2027. From April 2027, the new council will bill you. Details of new accounts have not yet been published, so watch for letters from your current council.
Business-by-business guidance has not yet been published. If a licence or permit is due for renewal around April 2027, ask your current council’s licensing team now how it will be handled.
The government says it is in the final stages of agreeing one. A non-mayoral strategic authority is proposed from April 2027, with a mayor possibly from 2028. Powers, budget and timing are not yet confirmed.
The official source is the Future Surrey website at surreylgrhub.gov.uk. Contact your new East or West Surrey councillor, write to your MP, and tell Mole Valley Chamber what concerns you, so we can raise questions on behalf of local businesses.
MPs do not run councils, but they can raise local concerns with ministers, who will decide on a mayor for Surrey. Some constituencies cross council boundaries, so check yours by postcode using Parliament’s Find your MP service.
| Constituency | MP | Main areas | New council |
| Dorking and Horley | Chris Coghlan | Dorking, Bookham, Fetcham, Horley | East Surrey |
| East Surrey | Claire Coutinho | Tandridge | East Surrey |
| Epsom and Ewell | Helen Maguire | Epsom, Ewell, Ashtead, Leatherhead | East Surrey |
| Esher and Walton | Monica Harding | Elmbridge | East Surrey |
| Reigate | Rebecca Paul | Reigate, Redhill, Banstead | East Surrey |
| Runnymede and Weybridge | Ben Spencer | Runnymede, Weybridge | East and West Surrey |
| Farnham and Bordon | Gregory Stafford | Farnham | West Surrey |
| Godalming and Ash | Jeremy Hunt | Godalming, Ash, Cranleigh | West Surrey |
| Guildford | Zöe Franklin | Guildford | West Surrey |
| Spelthorne | Lincoln Jopp | Spelthorne | West Surrey |
| Surrey Heath | Al Pinkerton | Camberley, Frimley, Bagshot | West Surrey |
| Woking | Will Forster | Woking | West Surrey |
| Windsor | Jack Rankin | Englefield Green, Virginia Water | West Surrey |
What happens next
Surrey council reorganisation will shape the services, costs and opportunities our members rely on for years to come. These questions deserve clear answers before April 2027, not after.
Tell us what you want answered by emailing marketing@molevalleychamber.co.uk, or bring your questions to one of our upcoming events. Good Surrey business networking has always been about asking the right questions together.
About this article
Mole Valley Chamber is an independent, non-political business organisation. We are not affiliated with any party and take no position on the merits of the reorganisation, its strategy or its outcome. Our aim is to inform businesses across Mole Valley and Surrey, members and non-members alike, and to set out the questions they may want to ask. Facts were checked against the sources below on 6 November 2026.
Sources
- Future Surrey: East and West Surrey councils
- Shaping Surrey’s Future, Final Plan, May 2025 (Part 1)
- Surrey County Council statement on mayoral strategic authority, 28 October 2026
- Government response to the Surrey reorganisation consultation
- East Surrey Council election results
- Surrey local election results, May 2026
- Surrey County Council: information on staff transfer
- East Surrey Council roles
- Institute for Government: metro mayor accountability
- Buckinghamshire Council: reflections five years on
- Somerset Council: CIPFA external assurance review
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