On 13 January 2026, Mole Valley District Council voted “NO” to proposing a new Parish Council for Bookham.
The Council’s Community Governance Review report stated: “Bookham is currently unparished. The response to the stage one consultation for Bookham showed that the majority of respondents felt that no change was required at the current time. Given that Bookham residents had previously voted against the creation of a Parish Council (2017) it was felt that there was no new evidence to suggest there was now a need for change.”
The BRA together with other Residents Associations had raised concerns about the timing, Council Tax implications and ‘democracy’ of the Council’s Community Governance Review; saying that such important changes require a full public debate, understanding of the issues, and a referendum to decide.
For Bookham and the eleven other areas where the Council has decided there will be no change to governance arrangements, the Council will now:
· Confirm its ‘no change’ decision.
· Provide an information pack for residents.
Residents can comment on that information if they wish to.
For the ten areas where governance changes have been proposed, the Council will now continue on to Stage 2:
· Provide an information pack
· Afford a 4-week consultation period
· With a postal ballot (which can also be completed on-line) for residents to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the creation of a Parish Council in their area, or to change the boundaries of an existing Parish Council.
The Council’s aim is to decide whether to create (or amend the boundaries of existing) Parish Councils in early March 2026; just before Local Government Reorganisation legislation is enacted to remove the Council’s power to do so.
Please see below for a Questions and Answer document providing further information.
We will provide further updates when the Council’s information pack is received.
