Newsletter - Thu 3 Jul, 2025

By David Grantham

In this issue: the town turned out for the Reigate Summer Festival; a big redevelopment scheme in Redhill could create new flats and shops; there’s greater clarity on when the Harlequin might reopen; the Government is consulting on Surrey’s future local government. That’s after news in brief.

News in brief

The annual Gatton Country Fair takes place this Sunday, 6 July, at Gatton Park, who say: “The highlight of our calendar, and a great day out for the whole family. Enjoy animal displays including falconry, water rescue dogs and reptiles, a fun dog show, live music, tractor rides, country crafts, circus skills, Punch and Judy and small children’s fairground rides. A wide range of market stalls and food and drink concessions – including BBQ and Pilgrim beer tent”. Details including prices here (Abre numa nova janela).

Meadvale Village Fete is this Saturday, 5 July, featuring food, stalls, a raffle, music, a licensed bar, a bouncy castle, local bands, a vintage car display and more. “As ever, this will be a super fun event, and there'll be an opportunity to hear how the Scouts have progressed with the goal of saving Meadvale Village Hall for future community use, ” organisers say. More details here (Abre numa nova janela).

Oak processionary moth caterpillars are most active May to July, often seen in groups moving up or down oak trees or on nearby ground. Their nests, usually white and web-like, can appear on trunks and branches.  Surrey County Council is reminding people, including those with pets, not to touch the caterpillars or their nests, as the creatures have tiny hairs with a substance that can cause itchy skin rashes, and, sometimes even eye and throat irritations and breathing difficulties. Advice, and how to report sightings, is (Abre numa nova janela) here (Abre numa nova janela).

Supermarket crime #1: a London man has been jailed for two years and four months after thefts across Surrey, where he preyed on elderly people in supermarkets (Abre numa nova janela), stealing wallets, purses and bags while they were distracted, and then used their bank cards. He is believed to have stolen over £40,000. His offending stretched across several police forces.

Supermarket crime #2: an Enfield man has been jailed for just under 3 years after being involved in stealing (Abre numa nova janela)around £100,000 worth of alcohol from supermarkets across Surrey. He was identified as being part of an organised crime group that travelled up and down the country, stealing £500 - £7,000 worth of alcohol at a time.

Weather smiles on arts festival

The sun shone on the second annual Reigate Summer Festival (Abre numa nova janela), tempting crowds to venues across the town to enjoy music, drama dance, comedy, film, art, literature, history and creative workshops, during the weekend of Friday 20 to Sunday 22 June.

With most events free to attend, the Reigate Summer Festival team relied on volunteers, artists freely giving their time, and grants and sponsors (Abre numa nova janela). Anyone who wants to donate towards next year’s festival is asked to visit a crowdfunder page (Abre numa nova janela).

In a video recap of festival highlights (on Facebook (Abre numa nova janela) and Instagram (Abre numa nova janela)) the Reigate Summer Festival team said: “Thank you to everyone who made it such a special community celebration of all things creative. Let’s do it again next year!”

The team added a special thank you to the festival’s main sponsors: Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Reigate Business Guild, New Music Nights, Reigate College, Reigate Architects, House of Building Group, Kutchenhaus Reigate, Aqua Sports, Ivory Lounge, The Good Consulting Company, Simple Floors and Thornton Group.

Dates for next year are Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June 2026.

Dozens of live music acts - across all genres and ages - performed over the weekend - below are pictures of just a handful of them.

Flats and shops scheme for Redhill town centre

A major redevelopment in Redhill town centre could see the creation of 233 flats, 19 shops and 2 restaurants.