East Surrey Council Election
Elections
EAST SURREY COUNCIL ELECTION
Thursday May 7th 2026 7am-10pm
Thursday May 7th 2026 7am-10pm
PETER HARP and TIM SNUGGS
Peter Harp
- Long term Nork resident
- Councillor at both Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and Surrey County Council
- Member of Planning Committee at both councils, chaired key committees and groups including Standards and the Environment
- Background in archaeology
- Banstead Commons Conservator
- Volunteer for local hospice
Tim Snuggs
- Long term Tattenhams resident
- Councillor at Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
- Member of the Borough Planning Committee
- 40 years’ experience in policing
- Chairman of the Royal British Legion, Banstead and District
- Chairman of Music in Nork Park
A Message from the Chairman of Nork RA
Your Residents’ Association believes there is no place for party politics in local government. Our creed is to seek what is best for Nork from our councillors without having to follow a party line.
Our candidates have the benefit of experience at both Borough and County Councils. They have a proven track record on concerns which are important to you: planning, recreation, countryside and road safety.
At a time when national government is reducing your democratic representation from seven councillors to just two for the new ward, it’s important you choose councillors you know and who live in the area. Other parties regularly promote candidates who live many miles away. With your Residents’ Association you know you will get LOCAL candidates to represent you, who are not constrained by a national party line.
Bob Ferris
Chairman Nork Residents’ Association
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION
The Government has pressed ahead with reorganising local government in Surrey. The eleven borough councils and Surrey County Council will cease to exist in March 2027.
This change has been forced on us against residents’ wishes. The public consultation opposed it, as did the borough councils. It has been forced through by Surrey County Council and by national government, against the wishes of Residents’ Association councillors.
The government’s purpose is to make it easier for big planning applications to go through with less democratic scrutiny. We have already seen this government begin degrading greenbelt protections to “greybelt”, encouraging development of our nearby countryside.
County Council Leader Tim Oliver initiated the change to a unitary council saying this would release extra government funding for a strategic mayoral authority, similar to the Mayor of London, but the government is backtracking.
Arguments that a single-tier council will save money in the long run are wishful thinking. Surrey County Council services such as highways, social care and SEND, will be more expensive when split between East and West Surrey.
If you elect us to this new council we will fight your corner in a council with significantly less democratic representation. Nork & Tattenhams will need effective councillors with a STRONG and EXPERIENCED voice.
THIS IS NOT A TIME TO SEND A SIGNAL TO NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. SAVE THAT FOR THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION WHEN IT WILL COUNT.
This is a time to elect LOCAL councillors who know you and our area, who answer to YOU and not to the diktats of a national party divorced from local issues.
ENVIRONMENT & LEISURE
We will continue to protect our local environment – parks, recreation grounds, greenbelt and farmland. Peter has chaired two council groups developing the council countryside strategy, including parks and recreational/sports areas. He is a Banstead Commons Conservator, safeguarding Banstead Downs and Burgh Heath. He co-founded the Friends of Nork Park.
The hugely popular pump track in Nork Park is a project concept designed and promoted by your Residents’ Association councillors and funded through the local CIL scheme for the benefit of the community.
We support community litter-picking in our area.
ROADS & PAVEMENTS
We have had Montrouge Crescent recently resurfaced. Fir Tree Close and part of the A217 are next. We are improving pedestrian safety at the Reigate Road/Tattenham Way junction.
Our immediate priorities include resurfacing the northern half of Nork Way and the Brighton Road (A217 service road) between The Drive and Burgh Wood.
SPEEDING
We recognise that many residents are concerned about speeding. That’s why our local Community Speedwatch scheme was set up to deal with this issue with Tim Snuggs one of the co-ordinators. The main aim is to educate and it is now one of the largest and most successful schemes in Surrey. We have the full support of Surrey Police who are often seen with us and should be the catalyst for future traffic calming measures.
Tim has worked closely with the Community Speedwatch team providing data that encourage better police enforcement of speed limits and strengthens the case for installing speed cameras on roads such as Fir Tree Road and Epsom Lane North.
ADULT SOCIAL CARE & SEND
Surrey County Council spends more than half of its budget on adult social care and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). In these two services the performance of the ruling Conservatives has been very poor. SEND, particularly, has just been heavily criticised in an independent report. This is in part a national problem caused by government underfunding. Government plans to shift more responsibility on to local schools are probably unrealistic without extra funding. We will continue to push for improvements and more accountability.BUDGETS & FINANCE
With the ending of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, the only Surrey council not in debt, finances will be stretched over a wider area. It will be even more important to ensure council funds are spent wisely and efficiently. Certainly not on vanity projects such as the £600K spent recently in neighbouring Banstead ward on resurfacing the High Street that we believe was unnecessary.PLANNING
The Residents’ Associations vigorously scrutinise new planning applications, seeking to protect the character of Nork & Tattenhams, whether back gardens, trees or amenity spaces.The new council will face increased pressure from both government and developers. Threats include reclassification of greenbelt to greybelt, a new presumption in favour of development within 800 metres of railway stations, higher housing targets, and less scrutiny of applications by planning committees.
It is therefore even more important that you are represented by councillors who live locally, know the area and can raise residents’ concerns.
Dear Voter,
We have been honoured to represent residents at the Borough and County Councils. We have improved our local environment whether in streets, parks or countryside.
We have diligently assisted you in planning matters, working with residents in opposing inappropriate schemes and suggesting changes and planning conditions where improvements were required. At the new council we will continue to protect our area seeking the best quality development possible.
We will push for higher quality road repairs, repairs that are quickly and properly fixed.
We will strive to set up a truly responsive council answerable to residents with effective oversight of services and budgets.
We believe there is a strong possibility that the Residents’ Association councillors will have the numbers to control the new council. We will have the ability to set the council’s priorities to put residents first, balancing finance, growth, local representation and community.
We will face particular challenges where the current administration at Surrey County Council has failed residents in Highways, Adult Social Care, and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). THESE MUST BE IMPROVED. The government’s draft changes to SEND provision are a cause for concern and possibly unworkable as they put the burden on already over-stretched schools.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Harp, Tim Snuggs