Today, we're diving into a topic that’s shaking things up in our neck of the woods: Surrey's local government is about to undergo its biggest makeover in half a century! Yes, you heard it right - two shiny new unitary authorities are stepping in to replace the old county council and a whopping eleven district and borough councils. To help us decipher this big change, The Sheppertonian met with local councillors who shared the scoop on what this means for us folks living in Shepperton and the surrounding areas. They broke it down like a simple recipe: one council means fewer headaches, a streamlined service, and hopefully quicker decisions - because who doesn’t want their bins collected on time? So grab your headphones and let’s get into the nitty-gritty of what’s changing, why it matters, and how you can make your voice heard come election day on May 7th.

Takeaways:

1. The local government in Surrey is undergoing a massive overhaul, creating two new unitary authorities, simplifying governance for residents.
2. Residents will soon only deal with one council, the West Surrey Unitary Authority, making services more streamlined and efficient.
3. Key dates for residents to remember include the election on May 7th and the transition to the new authority on April 1st 2027.
4. The transition aims to reduce confusion and duplication between current councils, improving service delivery and accountability for locals.
5. Many residents may not notice immediate changes, but the hope is for a more seamless service after the transition.
6. Councillors emphasise the importance of community engagement and staying informed about the changes happening in local governance.

• Future Surrey – Surrey LGR Hub
• 2026 West Surrey Elections | Spelthorne Borough Council

Produced by Gareth Davies at The Sound Boutique

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Gareth Davies

Hello and welcome to the Sheppertonian. I'm Gareth and this is the local podcast bringing you stories, voices and events from in and around Shepperton.

Before we begin, a quick thank you to the local businesses supporting the Sheppertonian through the Business Club. Their backing makes it possible to keep sharing stories like this one. First, our partners the Ferry Coffee Shop down at Shepperton Lock.

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Today, something that affects every single person living in this area, Surrey's local government is about to go through its biggest change in 50 years. Two new unitary authorities are replacing the existing system of a county council and 11 district and borough councils.

And there's a key date coming up fast.

To explain what this means for residents here in Shepperton and the surrounding area, I met with two local councillors, Buddhi Weerasinghe, councillor for Lower Sunbury and Halliford division of Surrey county and ward councillor of Sunbury East on Spelthorne Borough Council. It's a long job title. And Matthew Lee, ward councillor for Sunbury East on Spelthorne Borough Council.

We met in the beautiful walled garden in Lower Sunbury on a rare warm afternoon, which I heartily recommend if you're looking for somewhere peaceful to go. I asked Buddhi in the simplest possible terms, what is actually changing?

Buddhi Weerasinghe

Governance is going to be more simpler, easier for residents to understand how the local government works and avoid lots of duplications happening right now. If you can appreciate the fact that at the moment we have 11 district councils plus one county council.

Many residents do not understand how these two councils work and the duplication of services.

With this approach, there are going to be one council that the residents are going to be dealing with and services are going to be more efficient and add value to the services they receive and we save lots of taxpayers money.

Gareth Davies

So instead of two tiers, a county council handling some things and a borough council handling others, everything under one roof. I asked Buddhi to spell out exactly what that means.

Buddhi Weerasinghe

In practice, the County Council is now responsible for adult social care and health education and schools, highways particularly, and strategic planning applications and libraries.

District councils usually collect council tax and then all the planning applications, the housing, waste collections and local environmental services are managed by the local councils. Now, these two councils put together, we are going to have one council, which is, in our case, West Surrey Unitary Authority.

Gareth Davies

With the picture clearer on what's actually changing, the next question is when. Matthew had two dates. Every resident needs to know two key

Matthew Lee

dates for residents is to make their vote for the unitary election. So for our residents, they will be voting for West Surrey. The date of that vote will be the 7th of May.

So any unitary councillor who's elected on the 7th of May, they will effectively work in a shadow authority.

Gareth Davies

It does sound a little like something out of Harry Potter, but in practical terms, what does that transition period actually look like for residents?

Matthew Lee

So the two current authorities will continue to do their work and it will lead towards 1st April 2027, when effectively the new authority will take over.

Our understanding at the moment, and it is just our understanding is that the shadow authority will put in place where the locations are put together. The teams work through effectively the transition of staff and services.

But it is expected to be effectively a streamlined service because you're bringing together the two different services into one, two

Gareth Davies

dates and a period of transition in between. But beyond the mechanics, what should residents actually notice when April 2027 arrives? I put that to both of them.

Buddhi Weerasinghe

Residents will see their elected members and officers will have a clear accountability, so you can't pass the box. You know, that's Spelthorne Borough Council or that's Surrey County Council.

You have two councillors you'll be electing, so your two councillors will be slowly responsible for the matters affecting your division, in our case Lower Sunbury and Halliford. And it will increase the efficiency, particularly decision making will be faster.

Right now there are lots of gaps in terms of decisions are being made and some overlaps between highways, let's say for highways, and then local councillors are involved and they have to come to their county councillor. So decision making will be much faster than what's happening right now. And I mentioned less duplications and I think better value for money.

Matthew Lee

I would say that what residents should expect come 1st April is a seamless service.

Most residents, certainly I deal with as a borough councillor, they are wanting to ensure their bins are collected on time, that if there is an issue that it is dealt with. And Buddhi's right. Buddhi is privileged in the sense that he is a borough councillor and a county councillor within a similar ward.

We have a number of those in Spelthorne and throughout Surrey.

It's more limited, but there will be advantage to residents having two elected representatives of which will be able to deal with every problem that a resident has. I'll give you one example.

A number of residents within this area have known through certainly the casework that we have done in the past, that a piece of grass strip that may be a bit overgrown or have some brambles, which upsets residents and is causing issues to school children walking to school, etc. They think, oh, that must be Spelthorne Borough Council. But actually it's owned by Surrey, therefore there has to be a process that goes through.

Another example is obviously when Surrey was allocating and moving the delivery of services for the cutting of grass. Residents will remember the challenges that came with that.

Cause that probably would not be a good for the environment or cost effective.

Gareth Davies

Seamless in theory, but change on this scale tends to generate anxiety. And not all of it is based on the full picture. I asked whether they'd heard concerns locally that didn't quite stack up.

Buddhi Weerasinghe

I had some representation from some of the residents and groups to say that the local democracy is destroyed because they think that, okay, the council office is going to be located somewhere in Guildford or Woking, and they think that, okay, it's not really closer to the local people. I think we live in an area where, you know, things are fully digitalized. Not many people are now going to council offices to receive their services.

You know, they can do things online.

So I think this is a bit of a misconception resident had in the past, but I think through the various awareness campaigns and I think people now begin to understand it's not the case.

Matthew Lee

I think Buddhi's right on this concern that residents have had of that localised becoming fragmented.

What residents have to remember is that nearly every single one of our towns and villages in Surrey has a library, which potentially is a hub for many different things and potentially can be an outlet for councils to be able to provide those services. But he makes a very valid point. Lots and lots of services are being become digital.

I've even noticed just this week the renewing of your licence for your garden waste bin will become digital.

However, there are residents that do rely upon the offices and mainly due to social housing or the need for temporary accommodation, there is an expectation that that will be managed, still managed locally, but utilising assets of the new authority. I think also there was maybe a misconception that the savings would result potentially in immediate council tax savings.

And obviously that hasn't been communicated to us as councillors and certainly not as residents.

Gareth Davies

Alongside the practical questions, there's a financial backdrop to this transition that some residents will have read about. Spelthorne's borrowing position has been well documented and it's a reasonable thing to want to understand.

Heading into a new structure, Spelthorne had

Matthew Lee

£1.1 billion worth of borrowings against commercial assets, which unfortunately, like all commercial assets, have dropped in value since the pandemic. The council did refinance and that refinance reduced the debt by in excess of 300 million.

However, there is a debt, but there is a debt link to assets. Those assets will continue to be divested during this 12 month period, but ultimately it will transfer into the unitary authority.

I guess from a resident's perspective they will generally not see too much change.

Buddhi Weerasinghe

There are challenges. There's a wider speculation around the debts of some of the councils.

We have to deal with those and I think the central government has committed that they will be sort of looking after some of the debts. I think both shadow authorities will have to monitor how these debts are going to be managed. That's one element.

At the same time, Surrey County Council also proposed and we now have joint authority where existing Surrey county councillors and borough councillors, representatives from borough councillors are working together to create that governing structure.

So through this governing body, it's a voluntary governing body, they should be looking at various policy structures, how the new council should look like. I think, if I may probably point out, the debts is going to be a bit of a problem for the residents.

Gareth Davies

Which brings us back to the 7th of May and why it matters that residents actually show up.

Matthew Lee

I think residents really need to be reminded that this is once in 50 years that they get to to decide who will be their local representation for the new authority.

You're suddenly taking what was Spelthorne, which was one of 11 boroughs and districts, into now two authorities. So Spelthorne is going to be, in one way, more diluted in terms of what happens.

So you need to ensure that we are very capable people to put the interests of our Spelthorne residents first.

We're going to be very fortunate that Runnymede and Spelthorne are going to be combined, but we are sharing the River Thames, which is just behind us, with Elmbridge, and lots of residents are very mindful of, for example, the River Thames scheme, which we would assume that will continue and it will be passed over to the two combined authorities to go forward. But I think having a voice is very important.

Buddhi Weerasinghe

I think one point I want to mention here, central government wanted to give away more powers to local councils. I think this is something that we should embrace with that positivity, because I think we can unlock regional funding.

We are not sure whether we are going to have a Surrey elected mayor or not. That's not yet published. But if we as a local authority or combined authority, if we can seek some funding.

Surrey is one of the richest counties in the country. I think we should probably see how such potential funding can be secured for the regional growth.

And I think we are very close to London, very close to Heathrow Airport and we have river, you know, Thames, you know, so we have so much links that we can utilise to grow the local economy.

And I think from a councillor's perspective, I believe that the new local authority, new unit authority, should look to see how we can unlock these potentials.

Gareth Davies

It's a compelling case for engagement and for anyone who wants to go further and get properly informed before May, I asked where to start.

Buddhi Weerasinghe

A county council launched a website. That website is linked to educate the residents around what's happening in the local government reorganization.

That's the first piece of information, probably you want to go and have a look. And secondly, there are multiple news release articles through social media. And also, if you see Shepperton and Sunbury Matters magazines.

The County Council did some advertisements to educate residents and through various other councils websites.

And also, of course, what you do here with us now is educating our residents about what's going to happen with their local government's reorganisation program.

Gareth Davies

Yeah.

Matthew Lee

Residents will also receive the latest Spelthorne Borough Council bulletin that went through their door probably over the last week, which has more information. All of the councillors are being briefed and aware. If any resident has a question, they don't feel that the websites or the information is there.

They can reach out to their local council. As ever they are. They're certainly there to help.

Buddhi Weerasinghe

One last thing maybe worth reminding your listeners that from the 7th of May until 1st of April next year, business as usual, no interruption to the service the Spelthorne Borough Council or Surrey County Council delivers.

Gareth Davies

That was Matthew Lee and Buddhi Weerasinghe, councillors for our lovely area. The key date to Remember here is the 7th of May, your vote for the new West Surrey Unitary Authority.

For more information, look out for the Spelthorne Borough Council bulletin and check your local council websites. And I've put links to the websites mentioned in the show notes.

If you've enjoyed this episode and want to support the production of the Sheppertonian, you can choose to become a community supporter at thesheppertonian.uk - it really means a lot and it helps keep stories like this one coming. I'm Gareth. This has been the Sheppertonian. Until next time, I'll see you around.