Campaigners fight back against plans to merge Surrey's 12 councils

A group of residents and councillors have launched a campaign to fight against the biggest shake-up of local government in Surrey in 50 years.

A petition against merging all of Surrey’s 12 councils into one – by Residents Against Surrey Single Unitary (RASSU) – has surpassed 2,000 signatures.

Campaigners view the one-size-fits-all model proposed by Surrey County Council (SCC) as a response to the rising popularity of independent residents’ groups across the lower tier councils.

But county council leader Tim Oliver says reducing the number of councils is needed to save money and simplify the system and was a manifesto commitment of Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party.

“There is a desperation to hold onto power,” said RASSU campaigner Christopher Barrass, also a Residents for Guildford and Villages borough councillor.

One in three of Surrey’s district and borough councillors is independent or part of a residents’ group, compared with about one in 10 county councillors.

Councillor Barrass said: “We stood 17 candidates in last year’s Guildford borough election and we had 15 returned. That demonstrates how people felt the system was failing to listen to them.

“They talk about saving £30 million a year but that equates to about £28 per person – is it really worth it for such a massive change?”

Hannah Dalton, one of the campaign’s leaders and an Epsom and Ewell borough councillor, says SCC should consult the public before submitting its business plan to Government.

She said: “The messages we are receiving are that people do not support this proposal or believe that on Surrey County Council’s current track record, a single council serving Surrey’s 1.2 million residents can ever be a success.”

County council leader Tim Oliver said: “This is Government policy, not something Surrey County Council has come up with.

“I thought residents’ associations would be enthusiastic about this proposal where there’s a clear understanding of the need for putting in place better local engagement.

“That might be more parish and town councils, or another option is local partnership boards, but some way in which people could connect with something that’s very local to them.”

The SCC business plan is expected to be put to a vote at the 13 October council meeting.

RASSU want to force a debate at the 29 September SCC meeting.