The year the decision was made to abolish Surrey County Council, Waverley Borough Council and all other districts and boroughs in Surrey, marking the biggest change in local government in decades. We are on the fast track.

On January 1, 2025, Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) was confirmed for Surrey. I shared my analysis of Surrey’s natural economic areas with all Surrey county councillors and MPs. My view identified three natural economic areas within Surrey, with Farnham in the Blackwater Valley — more than 30,000 people in 80 square miles — split across nine districts and boroughs and three counties.

On January 8, 2025, at an extraordinary Surrey County Council meeting, the administration placed the county on the fast track for LGR.

By March 2025, the Surrey County Council administration was pushing for a split into two unitary authorities, while Surrey’s districts and boroughs argued for three.

In May 2025, the county council administration, along with two districts and boroughs in the east, submitted a proposal for two unitary authorities, placing all the debt in the west. The remaining nine districts and boroughs submitted a proposal for three, with the debt split between two of the three.

During summer 2025, the Government held a “consultation” on what residents wanted. Residents supported three unitary authorities, and the Government accepted that three better reflected natural economic areas. However, it decided on two, stating that data provided by the Surrey administration showed this would be lower cost. As a result, all the debt is to be placed in the west — and Farnham is in the west.

There is no plan for how the debt will be managed. As a last throw of the dice, I tabled a motion requiring Surrey County Council to seek clarification from Government on how it intends to address the debt. This was unanimously agreed on December 9. I hope the council leader, Cllr Tim Oliver OBE, will send the letter urgently.

Voluntary joint committees have now been appointed for the west and east unitary areas. I will be one of 12 councillors on the west committee, with the first meeting scheduled for January 16, 2026.

I will continue fighting for the best possible outcome for the West Surrey unitary authority, due to be formed on April 1, 2027, with shadow unitary elections in May 2026. Councillors will be elected for five years, with the first year operating in shadow form to set up the new authority.

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) crisis, both nationally and particularly in Surrey, continues. I have been fighting this issue since October 2021 and am not giving up now.

When the previous chair of the children’s select committee, which reviews the performance of the administration and the service, resigned as a councillor, I was asked to take on the role. It has not been easy, but I am determined to keep asking the important questions and trying to make a positive difference.

My group of 16 independents, out of 81 councillors at Surrey County Council, has continued to work together effectively from opposition to drive change. Councillors do not have the power many residents think they do, but we are a strong group and, in my view, we have achieved a lot. We continue to ask difficult questions and push for positive change.

I would encourage residents to watch the last Surrey County Council meeting from December 9 and make their own decision about who is fighting hardest for residents.

The Government continues to push “build, build, build”, but Woolmead remains a demolition site in the middle of town after Berkeley Homes walked away and sold the site to Homes England. The site is too small for them, so they are trying to sell it. The rumour is they paid more than £10 million and will want to recover that. Councillors can do nothing, as planning laws allow the site to remain an eyesore.

The Centrum development was refused by just one vote by the Waverley planning committee. I support redeveloping the site, but not at six storeys, which would take natural daylight from existing residents on the north side of East Street and sit too close to the road edge to address the narrow pavements.

More sites outside the neighbourhood plan have been approved on appeal, including a new development through the Abbey View estate. At least by working with residents, changes they wanted to the access have been included in the first detailed applications. However, the site remains on a fault line and within the surface water flood plain. More houses on flood plains and more traffic in the town is, in my view, crazy, yet Government planning policy appears to encourage this rather than support the infrastructure residents need.

I will continue to fight for improved infrastructure to support housing that has already been approved and push for no further development without additional schools in particular.

Brightwells is finished but not fully occupied. I have put forward proposals to the administration ranging from converting some units to residential use to upgrading the square to support markets and events. Local councillors and I will keep trying, but ultimately decisions on the commercial space rest with Surrey County Council officers and the administration.

The town centre works have, without doubt, been challenging for everyone — roadworks always are. There have been, and continue to be, design issues that need to be addressed by council officers. I do not agree with all the design, and I hope the “rain gardens”, particularly on The Borough, will be removed as voted for by Farnham Town Council on December 18.

Closing The Borough between Castle Street and the Royal Deer junction will be the most impactful phase. Please let us pull together to support local businesses, be patient with each other and be kind. Park considerately, park and stride if you can, and use alternative ways to get into town where possible. Buses will be affected, but diversion routes will continue to serve the town centre.

My final thoughts for 2025: in a world where you can be anything, be kind. Smile at a stranger who looks like they need a lift, open the door for someone, and most of all look out for each other. Let’s make Farnham the best it can be in 2026.