Saturday 31 January, 2026

By David Grantham

Raglan Road expected to reopen towards end of week

Raglan Road remains shut at its junction with Reigate Hill, as gas company SGN carries out repairs after water entered its network.

SGN spokesperson Dan Brown said yesterday (30 Jan): “Gas supplies to ten properties were affected due to the water in our pipes, but our engineers extracted this water enabling us to safely restore the supplies.

“Now our focus is on repairing the affected pipes. This engineering work is expected to continue into next week before a period of reinstatement is carried out. All being well, we’ll be able to reopen Raglan Road towards the end of next week.

“We’d like to thank residents and road users for their continued patience while Raglan Road remains shut. We recognise roadworks can be frustrating, especially in a traffic sensitive location, but this is essential work to keep everyone safe and warm.”

According to Surrey’s roadworks map (Abre numa nova janela), work began on Friday 23 Jan.

Adventure golf could be coming to Reigate

Reigate Hill Golf Club is seeking planning permission for an 18-hole adventure golf course at its site at Gatton Bottom.

The attraction will sit to the north of the car park and clubhouse, and use part of the tenth hole’s fairway (which will be reduced from a par 4 to a par 3).

A design statement (Abre numa nova janela) submitted in support of the plans says the course will have a “rural” theme, “set amongst a landscaped setting that is invisible from any wider public vantage point”.

Features include a ‘lazy’ river, a tractor, combine harvester, natural rocks and animal sculptures.

The plans (Abre numa nova janela) aim to diversify what’s on offer at the golf centre, and attract children into the sport from an early age.

The site’s current parking spaces can “easily accommodate” the additional demand, the statement adds, with existing access “more than adequate to accommodate the minimal increase in traffic movements”.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is due to decide the application by 5 March.

Redhill Station plans rejected on appeal

The Planning Inspectorate has rejected a proposal to redevelop Redhill Station.

The plans would have created two residential buildings ranging up to 14 and 15 storeys, holding 255 flats. The station’s entrances would have been modernised, with the pick-up and drop-off moved to the back of the station. Retail space would have been included.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council refused planning permission in 2024, but developer Solum (a joint venture between Network Rail and Kier Property) appealed to the inspectorate.

Refusing the appeal, the inspector found that the development would create substantial harm to the character and appearance of the town, in particular because of the height and scale of the buildings.

The significance of local heritage assets, including local conservation areas and the view from Gatton Hall, would also have been affected by the development, although the level of harm varied, the inspector ruled.

The inspector also found harm to highway and pedestrian safety, including parking, and to living conditions for occupiers of flats at nearby Quadrant House (particularly daylight and sunlight).

The creation of 255 homes would have been a substantial benefit, and there would have also been transport, economic and other advantages of varying weight, but the inspector found these were outweighed by the harms.

Back in 2014 an earlier scheme was approved by the borough council which would have included lower high-rises (and a supermarket) but permission for that lapsed in 2017.

A BBC article including some local reaction is here (Abre numa nova janela), and the inspector’s report here (Abre numa nova janela).

News in brief

Borgo is the name of the new Italian restaurant that will be opening in “Spring 2026”, at 1 Church Street, where Banana Tree, and before that Cafe Rouge, used to be. Above it (in an apparently unrelated development) the first two floors of the building are being marketed as six flats (Abre numa nova janela), converted from commercial space and the subject of various planning permissions over recent months.

Fifty-two expressions of interest, out of many more received, are being taken forward (Abre numa nova janela) in Reigate & Banstead’s community asset transfer programme, which will see some local facilities, such as community halls, sports pavilions and open spaces transfer to local organisations, ahead of the demise of the borough council in 2027. Business cases will now be invited, and then reviewed. Details of which specific sites/organisations are currently being looked at have not been given.

Drug-driving bigger than drink-driving, winter campaign stats suggest

A record 369 arrests were made in Surrey during December’s annual “Operation Limit”, including 167 for drug-driving and 81 for drink-driving, indicating like last year that drug-driving rather than drink-driving is more prevalent in the county.

Operation Limit is a nationally coordinated effort to tackle driving- under-the-influence at one of the highest-risk times of the year.

Chief Inspector Karen Coyne, of the roads policing unit at Surrey Police, said (Abre numa nova janela): “These results demonstrate the impact of focused, intelligence-led enforcement reinforced by visible presence on our roads. Through targeted patrols, proactive stops and roadside testing, we have removed a significant number of impaired drivers from our roads, helping to protect all road users.”

She added: “Our officers have worked relentlessly during a period of increased risk for serious and fatal collisions involving drink or drugs to keep communities safe. While Operation Limit brings increased visibility during the winter period, our patrols and roadside checks continue 365 days a year.”

Arrests in the previous winter campaign (2024) included 140 for drug-driving and 84 for drink-driving.

Surrey proposes 5% council tax rise

Surrey County Council is asking its councillors to approve raising its part of council tax by 4.99%.

Residents in our area would see a slightly lower rise in their total bill, because Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is currently proposing to freeze its part of the tax, while the police element is expected to rise by 4.4%.

Last year Surrey received around 75% of local council tax, while Reigate & Banstead’s share was 14% and the police the remaining 11%.

Surrey says a key factor in their hike of 4.99% is the Government’s Fairer Funding Review, as this reduces government contributions to prosperous areas such as Surrey.

The council says the county will lose more than £180m of central government funding over the next three years. For context, the county’s annual budget next year is around £1.27 billion.

Local Democracy Reporter Emily Dalton has more (Abre numa nova janela) on the county’s thoughts and numbers.

Thanks for Ukrainian hosts

Music, moving stories and Ukrainian food featured in an evening at the town hall arranged by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council to thank current and past hosts who have provided sanctuary and support to Ukrainians.

Over 700 host families in the borough have participated in the Government schemes launched following the 2022 Russian invasion.

During the evening, which included messages (Abre numa nova janela) from Ukrainian guests, Reigate & Banstead’s mayor, Cllr Rich Michalowski, thanked hosts for their kindness and generosity.

He said: “It is one thing inviting someone in your home for a visit but having them live with you for one, two, six months, and in some cases years - is a wonderful act of generosity”. 

Economic growth fund gives out more cash to Surrey businesses

Surrey County Council has awarded 28 businesses up to £75,000 from the Surrey Economic Growth Fund in a second round of grants, selected from hundreds of applications.

The county council set up the fund last April, largely with Government money, to accelerate growth, boost innovation and create jobs.

Across both funding rounds, £3 million has now been awarded.

Reigate-based Rhevia (formerly Streetwise), which uses technology to make roads safer for pedestrians while improving vehicle flow, won first-round funding.

The firm’s Dorian Isaacson said (Abre numa nova janela) the money had been “transformational”, allowing them to hire two new staff and improve technology, “making our product more sophisticated and commercially viable”, directly helping to “win new customers and accelerate our growth”.

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