Are you a Guildford Borough resident struggling to make ends meet? The Mayor of Guildford’s Local Support Fund may be able to help with essential household costs.

The fund can help pay for:

• kitchen items and appliances
• household furniture and carpets
• clothing
• Debt Relief Orders

Applications can be submitted on your behalf by Guildford Borough Council’s Housing or Community Wellbeing teams, Citizens Advice, social services, a health visitor, doctor or school.

We aim to make a decision within five working days.

Find out more about the Local Support Fund:
www.guildford.gov.uk/LocalSupportFund

The current spell of hot, dry weather has left grass, woodland and heathland exceptionally dry, meaning fires can start and spread very quickly.

Please help protect our local countryside by taking extra care:

• Do not light disposable barbecues or campfires in open spaces.
• Dispose of cigarettes safely and never throw them from a vehicle.
• Avoid using fireworks or other items that could create sparks in dry areas.
• Take all litter home with you, especially glass bottles, which can increase the risk of fire.
• If you see a fire, move to a safe place and call 999 immediately.

Thank you for helping to keep East Horsley and the surrounding countryside safe.

The Parish Council would like to congratulate Catherine Young (Residents for Guildford and Villages) on her election to the Horsleys Ward of the new West Surrey Council. We look forward to continuing to work with her on local priorities.

We would also like to congratulate David Evans (Conservative) on his election to the ward. We look forward to working with him as the new shadow unitary authority develops.

We also take this opportunity to thank Dennis Booth (Residents for Guildford and Villages) for all he has done to represent the area at county level in recent years, and for the work he will continue to do on behalf of residents over the final year before the County Council ceases to exist in April 2027.

The election results are available on the Guildford Borough Council website

Great news – your bins just got better! From 31 March 2026 you will be able to put more into your mixed recycling bin. Wherever you live in Surrey, foil, aerosol cans, squeezy metal and plastic tubes, cartons and non-black plastic plant pots will be able to go in your mixed recycling bin. Just follow these simple steps and then add to your bin:  

• Scrunch clean foil into a ball no smaller than a tennis ball.  
• Clean foil trays.  
• Empty aerosol cans.  
• Empty squeezy metal and plastic tubes, such as toothpaste and tomato puree tubes.  
• Clean non-black plastic plant pots.  
• Empty, rinse and, if possible, remove lids of Tetra Pak cartons such as juice and soup cartons.  

By recycling, you’re helping to reduce waste, increase recycling rates and protect our environment. And don’t forget, Surrey’s recycling rate is the joint second highest of comparable areas in England!  

The new items are being added as part of the national Simpler Recycling changes, which aim to make recycling more consistent across the country.   

If you want to know which bin to put virtually any item you can think of in, use the Surrey Recycles search tool. Just enter your postcode then an item and the tool tells you what to do with it. 

Residents are asked to please continue supporting local businesses while improvement works take place on Ockham Road from 19 January.

The works will make the road safer and more accessible for everyone and include new traffic calming measures, upgraded pedestrian crossings, carriageway resurfacing and streetlighting improvements between

Station Parade and East Lane.

During January and February, there will be traffic diversions and motorists and pedestrians are asked to be patient while these important works are completed.

Importantly, all shops and cafes in Horsley will remain open throughout the works. Local traders will be operating in more challenging conditions during this period and will greatly appreciate the continued support of residents and visitors.

The Parish Council encourages everyone to continue to shop locally wherever possible to help keep our village centre thriving during the works.

Thank you for your patience and for supporting Horsley’s businesses.

Representatives from East Horsley Parish Council and the Friends of Horsley Station attended the SWR Community Rail Conference recently, an inspiring event celebrating the dedication of volunteers at adopted stations across the South Western Railway network.

We are delighted to share that Friends of Horsley Station received the award for Best Railway 200 Project. This fantastic recognition reflects the enthusiasm, teamwork and community spirit that went into the recent FoHS triple celebration event.

A huge thank you to Mel Beynon, Derry Dinkin, Andrew Franklin, Martha Jessop, and Chris Jany for joining Alan Gilbertson, Railway Task Group Chair, at the conference. An extra special mention goes to Stephen Groom, former Chair of the Railway Task Group, whose leadership and commitment brought the project to life.

Congratulations to everyone involved, a wonderful achievement for our community!

Photo: Members of the Friends of Horsley Station at the SWR Community Rail Conference.

(Image: Friends of Horsley Station & Zöe Franklin MP)

On 6 August, Zoe Franklin, MP for Guildford, visited Horsley and Effingham Junction stations as part of her tour of stations across her constituency. She met with members of the active ‘Friends’ groups who welcomed her to the village and highlighted key ongoing concerns.

A primary focus was accessibility, particularly the lack of step-free access to the London-bound platforms—a long-standing and unsatisfactory issue fully acknowledged by Zoe. The Friends groups shared their LOBLA (‘London-Bound Level Access’) campaign, which addresses this problem. The Government’s ‘Access for All’ funding, awarded roughly every five years and recently used to install a lift at Leatherhead Station, is a vital resource. Local contributions, including potential funding from developments like Wisley New Town, will strengthen bids for this competitive funding.

Zoe was also made aware of emerging car park capacity problems at Effingham Junction, where spaces are often nearly full on weekdays outside holiday periods, notably Thursdays. She was urged that planning for an expansion should begin now, rather than wait until the situation becomes critical.

During her visit to Horsley, Zoe viewed the new facilities, met Richard Bunce from South Western Railway, and spotted the Village Hall featured on the new ‘Welcome to Horsley’ sign, where she once worked. At Effingham Junction, she inspected the improved access road and footpath.

At both stations, Zoe enjoyed the colourful floral planters and the ‘wild’ areas maintained by the Friends to support local wildlife.

A year on from receiving an invaluable contribution to the start-up costs from the Horsley Community Fund (HCF), founding organisers of the Horsley Repair Cafe, Andrew Franklin and Alex Veys, presented bunches of flowers as an expression of appreciation to HCF committee members Lesley Noble and Rosie Fonseca.  

For the second consecutive year, the Horsley Choral Society has taken top honours in their division at the prestigious Leith Hill Music Festival, held last weekend.

In a poignant moment for the group, the competition marked the final appearance of long-serving Musical Director Val Beynon. Under her baton, the choir delivered an exceptional performance, winning all three categories in their division.

East Horsley Parish Council congratulates the Society on this remarkable achievement, joining the many voices celebrating their continued success.

The Parish Council’s ongoing efforts to help keep East Horsley’s roads as safe as possible have stepped up in recent days.

As part of this work, the village’s road signs have received their annual clean, carried out by local window cleaner Damien Clark.

The visibility of the signs has also been improved, with Village Warden Nick Clemens using his long-handled hedge trimmer to cut back vegetation that had begun to obscure them.

These simple but important measures help to ensure that road signs remain clean, clear and visible to all road users.

It’s been a seriously dry summer.

Last Saturday marked the 40th day in the South when temperatures topped 30°C, while at Wisley it was the 60th consecutive day without rain.

You can see the impact right here on Wellington Meadow, which is looking very brown and dry.

With conditions this hot and dry, the risk of wildfire is high. If you’re enjoying our open spaces:

Choose a picnic rather than a disposable BBQ
Take your litter home
Avoid open fires and bonfires
Keep glass bottles out of direct sunlight

One spark can start a wildfire, threatening wildlife, habitats and people.

Let’s enjoy the sunshine by helping to keep our open spaces safe.

Find out more about wildfire prevention here