Congratulations to Keith and Phoebe on being elected to represent Waverley Western Villages. Elstead Parish Council looks forward very much to working with both elected representatives as well as with Cllr Long who remains "in post" for the coming year during the hand over process. Following is a press release from Surrey CC summarising the results for the new 'West Surrey unitary authority' and explaining the hand over "shadow" phase. Further updates will be posted on the Future Surrey website in due course. West Surrey results Following yesterday’s count (8 May 2026) for the West Surrey Council election, Liberal Democrats secured 56 of the 90 seats available, meaning it holds the majority. The full political make-up of the new West Surrey Council is:  56 Liberal Democrats                    20 Conservative Party                     9 Reform UK                         2 Farnham Residents                  1 Independent                         1 Residents for Guildford and Villages          1Runnymede Independent Residents’ Group      A total of 452 candidates stood for 90 seats across 45 wards. The total number of verified ballot papers was 225,203 from an electorate of 488,899 eligible voters in the West Surrey Council electoral area. This is made up of the geographic council areas of Spelthorne, Runnymede, Surrey Heath, Woking, Guildford and Waverley.  What happens next? West Surrey Council will be officially established on 1 April 2027. In preparation, there will be a transition period and the councillors elected on 7 May will be part of a shadow authority, which will meet for the first time on 20 May. At this meeting, the Council Leader will be voted in and they will announce the Deputy Leader as well as Shadow Executive Members. To take into account the shadow authority period and to give stability for the new councils, the new councillors will have a five-year term of office. Subsequent terms of office will be four years. West Surrey Council will operate as a ‘shadow authority’ alongside existing county, district and borough councils for the first year – until they officially take over delivery of services from 1 April 2027. In their role on the shadow authority, the newly elected councillors will set up the new council including agree budgets and council tax for 2027/28, decide staffing structures and governance arrangements, adopt codes of conduct and members’ allowance schemes and prepare for the transfer of responsibilities from the existing councils in Surrey. Existing county, borough and district councils will continue to operate and deliver their services as normal until 1 April 2027. Existing county, borough and district councillors will continue in their roles until this time, and residents should continue to contact them with service enquires as usual. The new shadow West Surrey councillors will only be able to respond…

F&W Networks is working with government to close the funding gap which is partly subsidised by government. The funding is paid into the network by validating gigabit vouchers. F&W Networks and their retail providers, such as HeyBroadband, will be getting in contact with you to help. We ask if you can please help close the funding gap for network. Please look out for emails by UK Government’s Gigabit Voucher Team building.digital.uk@notifications.services.gov.uk  

Elstead PC has undertaken some remedial work on both recreation grounds this week (22nd April).  Burford Lodge Rec has been fertilised and the goal mouths have been reseeded where there was the most wear and tear. As there is no water source down there our contractor will water periodically. The goal mouths have been fenced off to try to protect the new growth and we would kindly ask that Burford Lodge recreation ground users stay clear of that area, thank you.  Thursley Road Rec has been seeded and fertilised - thank you to Elstead Cricket Club for helping to water the field with their borehole / irrigation system.

A great time was had by all at the Easter Egg-stravaganza at Bonfire Hill which was held on Saturday 4th April. The Bonfire Hill Committee laid on a selection of fun games for all the family to enjoy including 'scrambled eggs’ for which children raced across the field facing West Hill collecting hundreds of ‘eggs’ that had been scattered by the team of volunteers.   All the ‘eggs' contained different letters and children attempted to make the longest word from all their letters.  A competitive egg and spoon race followed - this was particularly competitive for the adult race.  The event closed with a best decorated egg competition for which there were some very creative entries.   Huge thanks to all who were able to join us - many noted it was their first visit to the hill - and to our generous sponsors, Seymours and Great Hookley Farm.  Sincere thanks as ever to Tim for providing the audio and to our grazier for moving her horses at our request to graze the field in readiness for the event.  The very kind donations received on the day were very gratefully received and will go some way towards helping with the on-going upkeep and future projects such as the planned wildflower meadow. The volunteers hope to make this an annual event so please make a note for your 2027 diaries … and keep your eyes peeled for information on our summer anniversary event likely to be towards the end of June.

Well over 100 people packed into Elstead Village Hall during the evening of Friday 20th March to attend a public meeting entitled ‘the future of healthcare provision in Elstead’. Organised by Elstead Parish Council (EPC), the meeting was led by Cllr Jane Jacobs (EPC Chair) supported by Cllrs Pat Murphy and Andy Goundry, Cllr Gemma Long (WBC Ward Cllr), Dr Sarah Hargrave (partner at Springfield Surgery), Sue Gowar (Chair of Springfield Surgery Patient Participation Group) and Guil Strathalmond (Stakeholder). EPC Cllrs Andy Hampshire and Richard Muir were also in attendance. Cllr Jacobs welcomed all to the meeting and explained that “we are here to discuss the Future Provision of Healthcare IN Elstead and not just the future provision of Healthcare FOR Elstead.” Cllr Jacobs added that following a recent public exhibition held by a developer, Elstead Parish Council was aware that there might be some misunderstandings and wanted to bring residents up to speed with the current status of ‘the project’. Cllr Jacobs explained that the Sunray Farm Site was one of three approved development sites in the Elstead & Weyburn Neighbourhood Plan which was adopted in June 2024. Within its development area, Sunray Farm has an allocation of 0.25 hectare of non-residential space. The original plan for the non-residential space was the creation of a co-working hub however, the change in work practices following covid, along with the need to provide a larger surgery to accommodate current and future registered patients, meant that Elstead Parish Council was keen to champion a new doctors surgery on this location instead. Dr Hargrave explained the practice’s current situation noting that “a new building would bring enormous benefits to patients and to the wider community…. it would also give the staff and clinicians the room they need to work effectively, to support you all the best way they can ….. it would create a setting that is fit for modern general practice, now and in the future.” Cllr Jacobs confirmed that Elstead Parish Council has met regularly with key stakeholders including the NHS, WBC, Springfield Surgery Partners, Springfield practice owners and Springfield patient participation group to progress the development of a new Doctor’s Surgery in Elstead. Based on the projected population growth and expected future development, neither Waverley Borough Council, nor the NHS are in a position to fund the capital cost of a new Doctor’s Surgery namely because their funding rules can only take into account future growth and cannot correct a pre-existing problem. One of the other reasons that the NHS is unable to fund a new Doctor’s Surgery in Elstead is that there is a proposal to build a new Medical Centre in Milford and the NHS is already involved in this project. On this point, Cllr Jacobs highlighted the lack of direct public transport link between Elstead and Milford meaning that residents without access to a car will have difficulty in accessing GP services there further emphasizing “the need for the provision of medical facilities IN Elstead and not…

POLLING STATIONS NOTICE OF POLL AND SITUATION OF POLLING STATIONS Waverley Borough Council Referendum on the adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan for Elstead & Weyburn Notice is hereby given that: 1. A referendum will be held on Thursday 20 June 2024 to decide on thequestion below: ‘Do you want Waverley Borough Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Elstead & Weyburn to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?’ 2. The hours of poll will be from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm. 3. The Situation of polling stations and the description of persons entitled to vote thereat are as follows: Pedro WrobelCounting OfficerWednesday 12 June 2024Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations - E&W

Did you know, a staggering 298 tonnes of recyclable material had to be rejected for recycling last year? The recyclable material had been contaminated by unrecyclable items that prevented it from being made into something else.  This is a massive issue because rejected loads and contamination of dry mixed recycling is expensive for local councils to sort out – and that extra cost is passed on to councils and the taxpayer. Recycling makes financial sense for councils as it is cheaper than disposing of waste as rubbish and leaves more cash available for other essential services. It also generates less carbon dioxide than rubbish disposal, so it has additional environmental benefits. It’s widely recognised that recycling can be confusing, though. Putting the wrong thing in the recycling is easily done. The good news is you can follow these five steps to help make it a little easier.  Packaging can be misleading. Or you may think to yourself ‘it looks recyclable.’ Check firstby using the Surrey Recycles search tool or downloading it as a free app. It also includes information on how to recycle items that aren’t accepted in your household recycling collections such as crisp packets and food and drink cartons. Check what you can recycle separately. In most areas of Surrey, food waste and garden waste, small electricals, batteries and textiles recycling are collected separately - they don’t go in your recycling bin. Use our recycling search tool or free Surrey Recycles app to check how to recycle them. No food or drink residue as moisture and grease will ruin cardboard and paper and make it unrecyclable. Give food and drink packaging a quick rinse by dunking it into soaking pans before placing in your recycling bin. Place all items loose in your recycling bin – nothing inside bags, sacks or bin liners please. Play to bin – try our drag and drop waste sorting game today! Remember, other small changes like swapping to reusables where possible will really help as you’ll be creating less waste in the first place. Find out more at: surreyep.org.uk.

The Elstead and Weyburn Neighbourhood Plan will now go to referendum on 20th June 2024.  All residents are invited to vote.The updated neighbourhood plan may be viewed on the Waverley BC and Elstead Village Websites. https://www.waverley.gov.uk/Services/Planning-and-building/Planning-strategies-and-policies/Neighbourhood-planning/Elstead-and-Weyburn-Neighbourhood-Plan A flyer detailing all the key information will be hand delivered to residents in the plan area by the end of this week (7th June).There will be three "drop in sessions" where you can chat informally to members of the NHP team.  These will be Monday 10th & Monday 17 June at Elstead Youth Centre from 1-2pm and from 6-7pm.  A further drop in session will be held on Thursday 13th June at Pavilion Cafe, Tanshire Park from 1-2pm and 6-7pm.Hard copies of the plan will be located in the village at the end of the week (7th June) or by request from The clerk: elsteadpc.clerk@gmail.com.NHP Posters