Weybridge’s revamped library hub has reopened its doors, and it already feels like the beating heart of our community again. The space is now a brighter, more welcoming home for learning, creativity, connection – and of course, for borrowing and discovering great books.
The redesigned layout offers greater flexibility than before. There are cosy reading corners, quiet study areas for students or peripatetic workers, and improved digital facilities for anyone needing reliable access to technology. We particularly love the bright children’s section and the dedicated area for teenage readers – both feel fresh, engaging, and full of energy. Meeting rooms of different sizes are also available for hire. Importantly, re-using and upgrading the structure already in place has avoided the carbon footprint of demolition and new construction.
Ashley Tilling was involved at the planning stage for submissions to SCC and put forward installing the kitchen in the activity room for use by the community services team and getting rid of the staff parking spaces at the Churchfields approach so that it could become a full public entrance and a sitting out area. Thank you to Weybridge in Bloom for their planting to improve the look and feel of the seating area.
Monday to Friday each week, the Weybridge Community Hub is open in the first-floor activity hall to welcome everyone of all ages. Hot food and drinks are served from 10am to 1:30pm, with snacks and hot drinks available until 2:45pm. It’s a friendly space to relax, meet others, or simply enjoy a cuppa when you’re passing.
Looking ahead, Surrey Libraries’ Super Access system is planned for Weybridge – something already working well in other libraries across the county. This extended-access approach will give residents more freedom to use the library outside staffed hours.
The revamped Library Hub is a real step forward for Weybridge, and we’re excited to see how the community makes it their own in the months ahead.
The children’s play area in Churchfields Recreation Ground has had a makeover. You’ll find brand-new play equipment as well as extra picnic tables. The former paddling pool has been transformed into a spacious sand pit, and the surfaces around the equipment have all been renewed. It’s looking great and ready for plenty of fun — and all of this is in addition to the very popular splash pad, which Elmbridge Borough Council opened last May. These improvements make the park an even more welcoming spot for everyone to relax, play, and enjoy time outdoors together.
This year your local councillors were pleased to be able to allocate £559,370 in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding to projects across the Weybridge area.
The levy is paid by developers on new building projects. It ensures that development is matched by investment in local facilities and infrastructure. Local organisations can apply for CIL grants to support their capital projects. Importantly, applicants are expected to contribute funding themselves, ensuring that their money leverages greater value from public resources.
Education was one of the largest beneficiaries this year: Cleves School, Walton Leigh School, Oatlands School, St James Primary and Manby Lodge all received funding for a variety of projects.
Sports and recreation also received strong backing with new facilities planned for Weybridge Vandals, Weybridge Cricket Club, Oatlands Park Bowling Club and Walton & Hersham Youth Football Club.
Whiteley Village received support for its refurbished clubhouse while Brooklands Museum secured funding to accommodate Brooklands ATC. Girlguiding Weybridge and NW Surrey Synagogue gained funding to improve accessibility and sustainability.
In December 2024, central government published a paper to set out its approach on devolution – transferring more powers from government to local or regional authorities. They proposed that each area should elect regional Mayors where they don’t currently have them. This approach means that additional power is given to the Mayor, giving them more control over strategic decision making for their area.
To unlock the devolution of further local powers and elect a Mayor, some areas need to reorganise first. This means creating unitary authorities to simplify and streamline local government. Unitary councils are responsible for the services currently delivered by both the county council and local councils. In Surrey, there are eleven district or borough councils, responsible for waste collection, planning, cemeteries, parks and recreation grounds, and Surrey County Council responsible for Children’s Services, Adult Social Care and highways. LGR would mean dissolving all of the existing councils and combining services into unitary authorities. Having fewer councils creates efficiency, clarifies service delivery and saves money. It is, though, debatable whether this is ‘devolution’, which surely entails giving responsibility for democratic decision-making to the most appropriate local level.
The effect of being in the first wave
The Tory-led SCC administration volunteered to be in the first wave of devolution knowing that this would mean the cancellation of the county elections due to be held in May 2025 and extending the term of office of current councillors by two years without a further election. It has also meant that there has been very little time to thoroughly explore all the options for the configuration of the new unitaries, how the debt of councils will be managed and the complexities and costs of organising new teams to handle the key areas of Children’s and Adult Social Services.
Final plans submitted to government
A six week public consultation finished on the 5th August. Congratulations if you waded through the dense, opaque language in the numerous questions better suited to officers working in local government rather than members of the public.
Three unitary proposals
Nine of the eleven local councils are promoting a grouping of current councils into three new unitary authorities. They argue:
Our proposal offers local government that is built around Surrey’s distinct and recognised functional human and economic geographies. By aligning local government with well-defined and understood places, we can create a system that is more responsive, effective and attuned to the diverse needs of the people, communities and businesses that call Surrey home.
Put simply, we believe that local authorities with administrative boundaries that reflect functional and locally recognised areas are better equipped to meet the needs of these areas. They will also improve the potential for partnership working across the system and with community partners.
Two unitary proposals
Surrey County Council, Elmbridge and Mole Valley have promoted a final plan to government splitting Surrey into two councils, East and West. They say:
We’ve analysed a wide range of data on how the two councils would operate and our approach is supported by many of Surrey’s key public sector organisations including health, police, fire, business and community leaders. Existing county council services across Surrey are proven by independent inspectors to be strong, with successful outcomes for residents, and Surrey County Council and many of the district and borough councils have stable finances. This puts us in a good position to see Surrey through reorganisation smoothly.
What next?
The government is now considering the proposals and will make their decision know by the end of September or October. It is rather worrying that in the rush to provide lengthy proposals, key aspects such as how many councillors will represent each ‘division’ (‘wards’ will disappear) have not yet been put forward.
In Weybridge, the Community Centre has traditionally provided services mainly for older residents and, for the last year, has also been used by the Library during the refurbishment work of the Library building.
When the Weybridge Library re-opens in September, the centre services for the elderly will transfer into what will be know as The Library Hub, with the council continuing to provide these services. Building on the experience already gained by the SCC Library Services working with the EBC Community Services team, it is expected that new activities will be developed to target more residents of all ages who require support.
After the move, the Weybridge Community Centre will still be available for bookings by different groups with the aim of the voluntary and charity sector eventually taking over as part of a wider programme for all Elmbridge Centres. The Centres will become Community Hubs (probably an over-used term!) run by the community for the community. The council will invest £70,000 in each of these hubs and provide an additional £200,000 in funding to strengthen the voluntary sector. Financial support will also be given during the bidding process and the handover of the centres to ensure a successful launch for the new organisations. The council will hold information and advice events for interested parties in the coming months.
Connected Communities
Currently, community services in Elmbridge reach fewer than 1% of residents but costs around 20% of the council’s annual budget (around £4m), while nearly 12% of residents face serious challenges to living well. The Connected Communities transformation will enable the council to reach more unpaid carers, families facing financial hardship, isolated individuals, and older residents, ensuring that no one is left behind.
Over the next 18 months, the programme will:
strengthen partnerships with Elmbridge’s outstanding voluntary and charity sector to deliver more joined-up support
transform day centres into welcoming, inclusive Community Hubs that reflect the needs of many more of our residents
introduce Local Area Coordinators to provide tailored preventative support close to home
secure long-term resilience by delivering £1 million in annual savings and reinvesting in frontline services
A good example of a successful transformation that has already taken place is the Centre in Thames Ditton. This was taken on last year by a local resident who set up a not-for-profit organisation called Vital Village. It is now a busy, vibrant, multi-generational community centre used by many more people: www.vitalvillage.co.uk
We have continually reported how disappointingly slow it has been for NHS Property Services to progress with the long-awaited rebuild of the Weybridge Health Centre which burnt down eight years ago. There have been numerous self-inflicted delays – see our last article here from December 2024: http://weybridgelibdems.org.uk/2024/12/health-campus/
There was concern when the first planning application was made public that it included a path for cyclists and pedestrians into Portmore Way past St Charles Borromeo School and into Portmore Park Road. This was revised to reinstate access from Minorca Road. At last the application came before the Council’s Planning Committee on the 15th July 2025 and was approved.
We can only hope that NHS Property Services have the funding to get on with building the new centre as quickly as possible.
On Friday 27 June, Weybridge businesses voted to back a business improvement district (BID). We are very much in favour of this and Elmbridge Borough Council has facilitated the production of the Business Case, the engagement with businesses and the vote. See previous information here: http://weybridgelibdems.org.uk/2024/11/wey-bid/
The Weybridge BID will deliver a five-year plan backed by over £800,000 in investment. The BID will cover 13 streets and represent more than 220 businesses, all working together to enhance the local trading environment and secure a thriving future for Weybridge.
The business plan was supported by a majority of those voting by number and rateable value with:
Surrey County Council confirmed on the 23rd June that the experimental prohibition of Heavy Goods Vehicles in Weybridge will be made permanent. In the long consultation that ran from 25 October 2024 to 1 May 2025 86% of respondents supported the ban.
Enforcement of the ban will be with the installation of an Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera on Brooklands Road so that penalty charge notices can be issued to drivers. We hope that this will herald an end to HGVs forcing other vehicles onto the pavement at the Balfour Road roundabout junction and to their frequent damaging of the railings.
Your local councillors were pleased to attend the opening of the new water-play area at Churchfields recreation ground on Thursday 22 May with the ribbon being cut by the new Elmbridge Mayor, Cllr Steve Bax.
A splash pad was promoted in the Cabinet several years ago by Cllr Ashley Tilling as the portfolio holder for Environmental Services and Climate Change as we reported last year: http://weybridgelibdems.org.uk/2024/11/splash-pad/
Sustainability was a top priority when selecting the design and equipment; it therefore has a filtering and recirculating water system to reduce water consumption as well as solar panels to make it more energy-efficient than most similar facilities. The splash pad is packed with exciting and innovative water features that promise hours of enjoyment for toddlers and young school-aged children.
Opening times
The Weybridge splash pad is open from 24 May to 2 September. Opening hours are 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.
The council has approved buying another 86 more dual recycling/waste street litter bins. Many of the older bins were showing their age with rusting bases. These will replace bins in all town centres across Elmbridge where needed.
There will be two more in Weybridge High Street, six in Queens Road and two in Oatlands village.
