Public Spaces Protection Orders in place at Meadowbank Park and both Dorking and Leatherhead town centres are due to expire in October 2026.  Ahead of this, there is an opportunity to help inform whether they should be extended or amended if they are to continue for up to a further three years.

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) are introduced to address a particular nuisance or problem in a specific area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life. It does so by imposing conditions or restrictions to help prevent anti-social behaviour from continuing to occur in that area.

PSPOs provide Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) and Surrey Police with additional powers to address anti-social behaviour. If one or more individuals are found to be in breach of conditions outlined in a PSPO relating to that specific area, enforcement measures such as issuing a Fixed Penalty Notice or pursuing a formal prosecution can be used.

In place since 2017 and renewed twice previously, the existing Dorking and Leatherhead town centre PSPOs regulate the consumption of alcohol in those respective locations.  The Meadowbank Park’s PSPO has regulated the consumption of alcohol, use of intoxicating substances, dog fouling and restricting dog access to the park’s playground over the past six years.

PSPOs are not automatically extended, so the opinions of residents, businesses and visitors to the district are vital in helping to inform whether they continue or what they could look like in the future. Visit www.molevalley.gov.uk/pspo between Friday 5 June and Friday 10 July 2026 to complete one, two or all three of the individual area-specific online surveys. Paper copies of all three surveys will be available from the reception at MVDC’s Pippbrook office in Dorking during the consultation period too.

Councillor Caroline Joseph, MVDC’s Cabinet Member for Services and Security, said: “It is important we hear from people who wish to tell us of any personal experiences or firsthand accounts of anti-social behaviour over the past three years in the three specific locations being consulted on. It is only by building a clear picture of the effectiveness of the existing PSPOs can we make an informed decision about extending one or more of them and, if so, whether the anti-social behaviours they currently cover should be retained, added to or removed.”

Sports pavilions, scout huts and community halls are among assets to be transferred to local groups as part of Reigate & Banstead’s ambitious community asset transfer and support programme.

The scheme was set up to empower local organisations to take over vital facilities to ensure that they can continue to deliver benefits to local residents long term, beyond the life of the Council.

The Council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee is set to receive a report on the progress of the scheme at its meeting on 11 June.

Of the 42 business cases submitted, 15 applications are being progressed relating to asset transfers with associated grants, along with 9 applications for grants to enable organisations to improve an existing community asset. In total, £5.7 million is being awarded in grants.

Organisations that have been made a conditional offer of a community asset transfer via a long lease and an associated grant to improve that asset include:

• Beecholme Pavilion, Banstead to be transferred to Beecholme Belles Women and Girls Football Club
• Sovereign Youth Centre, Woodhatch to YMCA East Surrey
• Chipstead Rugby Football Club Pavilion to Chipstead RFC
• Kingswood Village Hall to Kingswood Village Community Association
• Nork Community Centre to Nork Community Association

On the impact of securing the Sovereign Centre in supporting local families, Judith Brooks, Head of Children and Young People and Deputy CEO. Of YMCA East Surrey, said:

“The Sovereign Centre is a key part of YMCA East Surrey’s ability to deliver vital services to the local community, including a pre-school, after school clubs, youth clubs and specialist clubs for children and young people with disabilities. Having longer term security over the building and funding for improvements will help us to continue delivering these services to families from Reigate, Redhill and beyond for many years to come.”

The majority of asset transfers are being made to existing tenants or via new leases on vacant assets that have little capital value.

Organisations offered a conditional offer of a grant to improve an existing community asset include:

• Age Concern Merstham Redhill & Reigate
• Chipstead, Coulsdon and Walcountians Cricket Club, Woodmansterne
• Reigate Priory Football Club
• Pathfinder Scouts, Salfords
• The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of All Saints South Merstham.

Chipstead, Coulsdon & Walcountians Cricket Club’s Chairman, Craig Wilson, explains how the grant to improve their facilities will be transformational for the 160-year-old club and the local community:

“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this funding. It is a huge moment for our club and for the wider community. These improvements will allow us to welcome more players, support our growing youth and women’s sections, and continue providing a positive, inclusive environment where people can be active, build friendships and feel part of their local community.”

In addition, the Council has also advertised its intent to transfer the following assets, subject to the outcome of consultation:

• Bay Close Recreation Ground, Court Lodge Field and Yattendon Recreation Ground in Horley to Horley Town Council which already manages most of the open spaces in Horley
• Merstham Football Club stadium, pitches and changing rooms to Merstham FC.

All transfer and grant offers are conditional on evidence being provided to meet the requirements of the Council’s Community Asset Transfer Policy and Community Asset Support Scheme. Agreements will include conditions that ensure transferred assets are protected for community use and that grants will be spent only for the intended purposes.

Immensely proud

Cllr Ben Green, Executive Member for Finance and Assets, said:

“I am immensely proud that we have been able to get this brilliant scheme over the line. For historical reasons, the Council has collected a number of assets that do not produce an income and are not needed to deliver services. It is right that we put those assets directly into the hands of the community who can now benefit from them for years to come.

“We received many high-quality applications. I want to thank everyone who worked hard on putting their business cases together.”

Cllr Green added:

“Sadly, we have not been able to take every proposal forward, but I hope to be able to announce a follow-on small grants scheme later in the year for local organisations who were not able to participate this time around.”

The submitted business cases were assessed against key criteria in the Council’s Community Asset Transfer and Support Scheme including their long-term sustainability, financial viability, community benefit and inclusivity, avoiding duplication of existing services, supporting growth in the voluntary sector and demonstrating local demand. Local ward councillors were consulted on the proposals in their area.

Earlier this year, the Council received over 160 expressions of interest from 84 local organisations keen to take on the management of assets. In addition, almost 30 organisations bid for grants to improve buildings they already own to secure their long-term future. Following a thorough assessment, 52 expressions of interest were invited to put forward a full business case for consideration, and organisations were offered support to help with their business case development. 42 business cases were ultimately submitted.

A community asset typically refers to land or buildings that provide a benefit to the local community rather than being held primarily for commercial reasons. Bids received for assets that were not up for transfer, such as those that deliver key council services, produce significant income, or are needed for strategic reasons, were declined.

Find out more on our website.

Surrey Police are appealing for witnesses following a serious collision in Redhill.

Officers were called to Warwick Road shortly before 3pm on Wednesday, 3 June following reports of a collision involving the driver of a white Luton box van and a pedestrian.

The pedestrian was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The van driver, a man in his 40s, was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving and is currently in police custody.

Road closures are currently in place on Warwick Road between the junctions of Gloucester Road and Carrington Place.

Were you in the area around Warwick Road between 2.30pm and 3pm this afternoon?

We are asking anyone who may have witnessed this collision, or who may have CCTV, dashcam, or helmet cam footage that may have captured all or part of this incident, to get in touch.

If you have any information that might assist our investigation, please contact us quoting PR/45260065382 using one of the options below:

• Use our 24/7 live chat service available on this website surrey.police.uk
• Use our online form to provide an update to this incident: How to tell us about an existing case or report | Surrey Police.
• Call us on our non-emergency number, 101

If you would rather not speak to police or to prefer to give information anonymously, you can contact independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or completing their online form at  https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Campaigners in Dorking say that nesting Swifts may have been displaced following partial demolition work.

A section of wall containing crevices is said to have been used by the birds was removed at the site in Station Approach in May.

The Housing Group Clarion has said that ecological checks were carried out before and during the works, while Mole Valley District Council have issued a temporary stop notice.

A prolific shoplifter has been jailed over his latest offences in Crawley.

Jason O’Dwyer admitted five new shop thefts and three breaches of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the town centre.

The 39-year-old took items worth nearly £1,000 from Peacocks, TK Maxx, a BP Petrol station and the Co-op.

He was stopped by a Police Community Support Officer and shop security and arrested.

At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on 1st May he admitted five shop thefts and three breaches of a Criminal Behaviour Order.

O’Dwyer, a British national of The Ridges, Guildford, was jailed for one year.

The court was told how the shoplifter has 35 convictions for 64 previous offences, including 32 theft offences.

The most recent were three shop thefts for which he was convicted in February.

But on 5 February he entered TK Maxx and stole a coat worth £60, then on 19 March he entered an M&S and BP Petrol Station at Faygate and stole items worth £357.

On 22 and 23 April he stole items from Peacocks in Crawley worth £516.

He was arrested on 29 April at the Co-op store in Langley Green, where he was remanded to court.

Speaking after the case, Crawley District Commander Chief Inspector Steven Turner said: “Officers are working hard to tackle shoplifting in Crawley, and through Operation Apprentice we are identifying the most prolific offenders.

“We understand the impact retail crime has for our community and for shop workers, which is why we are determined to catch criminals.

“I am pleased that by working with partners, O’Dwyer was caught and is now serving a custodial sentence.”

The court ordered O’Dwyer to pay compensation for all the items stolen. A new Criminal Behaviour Order was granted with further conditions and requirements until April 2031.

It prohibits O’Dwyer from remaining on the premises of any shop or store in Sussex if asked to leave by security, it prohibits his entry to London Gatwick Airport unless he has a valid ticket for travel, and it prohibits his entry into all Marks and Spencer, John Lewis At Home, Waitrose, Dunelm, Superdry, Peacocks, Sainsbury’s, Co-Op, TK Maxx and HMV stores across West Sussex as well as The Barn in Billingshurst. In addition prohibits him entering the town of Crawley, West Sussex