Surrey County Council is embracing a Dragons’ Den style of local government by giving communities the chance to pitch ideas and vote for changes to their neighbourhoods. The radical approach to localism has been devised for the council’s Travel SMART initiative, which has a pot of cash available for schemes that will improve travel and … Continue reading
Surrey County Council leader David Hodge has visited a community-run shop at Strood Green after it won £50,000 from a fund he created. Mr Hodge and Cabinet Member for Community Services and the 2012 Games Helyn Clack visited The Shop to find out more about how the money will be spent. The shop was one … Continue reading
Helyn Clack, Cabinet Member for Community Services and the 2012 Games at Surrey County Council, was interviewed by BBC Surrey’s Nick Wallis yesterday (29 May) about the Olympic cycling road races which will take place in London and Surrey on 28 and 29 July. The interview was on the back of LOCOG releasing tickets for two viewing areas … Continue reading
Bus users are being urged to make use of five trial Sunday services to be introduced as part of the final stage of Surrey County Council’s bus review. The new routes will be tested for a year and made permanent if they prove popular. The decision to trial them was made at a meeting of … Continue reading
Surrey County Council has signed off plans to keep nearly £31 million of spending local. A pool of around 130 Surrey firms will be created to do small-scale building repair and improvement work worth £7.7m annually over the next four years*. The businesses will also get the chance to win a share of a further … Continue reading
Sharing premises with other local authorities has helped Surrey County Council save local taxpayers nearly £3.5 million. Basing staff in joint rather than separate council offices in the same towns has contributed most of the £3.4m savings on public buildings. The approach, which has seen adult social care staff move into borough and district premises, … Continue reading
A Surrey Fire and Rescue Service firefighter, who will carry the Olympic torch when it passes through Felbridge, Surrey, on 17 July, was featured on the BBC One Show last week (25 May). Malcolm Styles was joined by some of his colleagues for a flambé lunch on the program. Watch the show on BBC iPlayer here. (The segment is 20 minutes into the show.)
Surrey County Council’s Cabinet will make a decision on the final phase of a three-year bus review that has already seen passengers shape services while saving £2.5 million. The review has been carried out in stages since 2010 to ensure buses are run where they are needed most, while saving taxpayers millions of pounds on … Continue reading
Fears over criminal gangs flooding the UK with fake alcohol ahead of Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012 celebrations have sparked a warning to drinkers. The safety message follows a prosecution by Surrey County Council Trading Standards of a shopkeeper in Staines-upon-Thames for stocking more than 200 bottles of fake booze including: * 95 bottles of … Continue reading
A community cafe, a meals on wheels service and a scout hall are among the projects awarded cash by Surrey County Council’s leader. They were on a list of 17 schemes announced by David Hodge as the first to get a share of a £750,000 pot of cash. Strood Green Shop Association won £50,000 for … Continue reading
Surrey County Council cabinet member Tony Samuels was among leading local government figures to set out how public services can make the most of their properties. In an interview with the Guardian, the Cabinet Member for Assets and Regeneration Programmes emphasised that taking a ‘one team’ approach by working with other councils leads to better … Continue reading
Surrey County Council has saved local taxpayers nearly £140 a minute by driving harder bargains. Doing better deals with the likes of IT and bus firms saw the council save £2m in the first six weeks of this financial year. The sum equates to £8,300 an hour or £139 a minute during that period*. In … Continue reading
The first of a new network of advice and information centres for people with dementia in Surrey has opened its doors. It was launched at Manor Farm Centre in Egham for Older People* to mark Dementia Awareness Week and is the first of 11 wellbeing centres planned over the next four years to provide information … Continue reading
The detailed route of the Surrey stage of this year’s Tour of Britain has been revealed. Surrey will host the eighth and final stage of the national cycle race on Sunday 16 September, starting in Reigate and finishing on the cobbles of Guildford’s steep High Street. The street-by-street route was announced by Surrey County Council … Continue reading
A Surrey teenager who overcame kidney and major spinal surgery has fulfilled her dream of carrying the Olympic flame on the first day of the torch relay (19 May). After running with the torch in Newquay, Cornwall, 15-year-old Hattie Devereux from Fetcham, Surrey, said it was the most amazing day of her life. Miss Devereux … Continue reading