East Surrey Council Strategy Survey
The creation of East Surrey Council gives us a unique opportunity for a fresh start, with new ways of working and delivering services that better meet the needs of local communities.
East Surrey Council has developed its Council Strategy. We want to hear what matters most to you. Have your say to help shape your new council.
This survey is open from Monday 19 October 2026 and will close on Sunday 15 November 2026 at 11:59pm.
Have your say to help shape East Surrey Council
View the East Surrey Council Strategy 2027 to 2032 (PDF)
East Surrey Council Strategy
Our vision is for East Surrey to be an inclusive place where people are heard and supported, communities are strong, people are proud of where they live and growth is sustainable.
From April 2027, East Surrey Council will begin putting its five year Council Strategy into action.
Your views will help us focus on what matters most to local communities and inform East Surrey Council's delivery plan for 2027-2032, which will include the actions the council will take and how progress will be measured. The East Surrey Council Strategy is focused around three areas:
-
People: helping people get the support, education, housing and opportunities they need, as early as possible.
-
Place: Improving local places, helping provide the homes people need, strengthening the local economy and minimising the impacts of climate change.
-
Council: Making services easy to use, managing money responsibly and reporting progress openly.
Financial challenges
The 2027/28 budget will be set against a challenging financial position. Changes to government funding arrangements via the Fair Funding Review mean East Surrey Council is expected to receive a significant reduction in Government funding over the next two years, in excess of £55m. This is on top of approximately £54m of reductions experienced by Surrey County Council this financial year.
Surrey is one of the areas most negatively impacted by the government's national funding changes. This ultimately means East Surrey’s overall funding will stay frozen at the same amount each year, even when council tax is raised by the maximum allowed (which is around 5%).
On top of this, demand and inflationary cost pressures are forecast to continue increasing, particularly in adult and children's social care and homelessness services. This all means there is currently a significant £35m budget gap ahead of next year, even with careful financial planning. This budget gap has already been reduced from £41m to £35m through initial budget planning work.
Local Government Reorganisation is expected to deliver efficiencies in the longer term once the transition is fully implemented, but initially it is costing money to deliver. £37 million will have been spent this year and there are further amounts to follow in subsequent years. In the short and medium-term, the council will likely need to continue to increase council tax by the maximum 5% permitted and use reserves before longer-term service transformation is implemented to achieve efficiencies and savings, and a balanced budget.
Next steps
The findings from this survey will help shape East Surrey Council's delivery plan for 2027-2032.After the surveys close, we will analyse the feedback and publish a summary of what we have heard. This will inform the development of East Surrey Council’s delivery plan, which will include the actions and measures to support delivery of the strategy’s priorities.
-
Engagement period 19 October to 15 November 2026
-
Engagement analysis and reporting November to December 2026
-
Feedback considered as part of draft budget proposals December 2026
-
Feedback informs final Budget East Surrey Shadow Authority February 2027
-
East Surrey Council launches 1 April 2027
This survey is open from Monday 19 October 2026 and will close on Sunday 15 November 2026 at 11.59pm.
Engagement events
We will be out and about in communities in East Surrey with the opportunity for you to talk to us about the Council Strategy. We want to hear from you so please do drop by and say hello. Dates, times and locations of where we will be in your local area are listed below. No need to book.
Accessible formats of the survey
Residents can request alternative formats via a central contact number.
-
Telephone: 03456 009 009
-
Textphone (via Relay UK): 18001 03456 009 009
-
Text SMS: 07860 053 465
-
British Sign Language: www.surreycc.gov.uk/bsl
Easy Read, Screen Reader, Large Print and hard copies of the survey can be downloaded below:
- Easy Read version of the survey (11.7MB, PDF)
- Large print version of the survey (299.9KB, PDF)
- Screen reader version of the survey (242.43KB, PDF)
Return of surveys
Hard copy printed surveys can be picked up and dropped back at all Surrey libraries. Or mailed directly back to:
FAO East Surrey Survey c/o Strategy and Policy Team, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Woodhatch, Reigate, RH2 8EF