Haslemere Town Council

News Stories

This week, This is Haslemere met up with members of Haslemere's Town Council to learn about their role within our community, what their priorities are and how they can help local residents. We hope this 'who's who' and 'what's what' will help shed some light on what they do day to day.

Haslemere Town Council is the first tier of local government. Its purpose is to serve the communities of Haslemere, Grayswood, Hindhead and Beacon Hill. It represents local interests and provides and maintains essential assets on behalf of the community. The Council consists of 18 elected, unpaid councillors and employs the equivalent of 3.5 full time staff. But what does this mean in practice … what does the Town Council actually do?

Local area and amenities

The Council runs and maintains much of the external green spaces in the town, including three allotment sites as well as Grovers Garden, Woodcock Green and the Memorial Garden in Hindhead and Beacon Hill. It is also responsible for the maintenance of Lion Green (including the playground there), St Christopher's Green, Pocket Park (at the bottom of Shepherds Hill), Clement Corner and Town Meadow in Haslemere. Incidentally, a new children’s playground will be installed here for 2026). And it is responsible for a large SANG site at Sturt Road.

In addition, the Council is responsible for the maintenance of the war memorials on the High Street, Grayswood, Shottermill and Beacon Hill, as well as the RAF servicemen’s memorial next to the Shottermill Club. These are regularly inspected to ensure they remain in good condition.

At the other end of the spectrum, they have responsbility for maintaining the public toilets. The council runs both sets of public toilets in the parish, those in the High Street car park and the more controversial WCs on Lion Green. They tell us that both are exceptionally well used, averaging 1,000 users per week.

Looking forward, as part of the forthcoming local government reorganisation, the Council actively want to secure sites within the parish which may be under threat from loss or neglect.

Haslemere Town Council’s planning and highways committee will also consider all planning applications in our administrative area, however, at this parish council level, it doesn't have planning responsibilities. Where deemed necessary, councillors will attend Waverley council meetings to represent their constituents. Residents are welcome to come and make representations relating to any of those applications.

The Council was recently part of the 'Rule 6' party, formed with Haslemere Vision, Haslemere Society, and Haslemere South Residents' Association (HSRA). This group was formed to participate at the public inquiry into the Scotland Park Phase 2 development, objecting to the development.

Partnership and Community

The Council is also allocated funding which it can use to support local organisations and services. In 2025-26, it awarded almost £75,000 in revenue grants to essential local services which support the community. These include the Haslemere Youth Hub, the Haslemere Foodbank, Sport Haslemere, Three Counties Money advice, CAB, Hoppa, Weyhill in Bloom and others.

More recently, they have launched a new project, in partnership with VASWS (Voluntary Action Southwest Surrey) to support any local organisation in finding additional external funding. If you need funding for a local project, we recommend you reach out to the Town Council to see if they can help.

Another new initiative that the Council are looking to get up and running is aimed at supporting community growth. They want to facilitate a biannual meeting as an opportunity for organisations to network with each other.

Many Councillors serve as representatives on local organisations. They told us that they felt that this helped them to stay informed about what is happening in the community. They also feel that it can give local organisations a real advantage. If a Councillor understands your goals and financial position, they can often point you towards useful advice or funding opportunities.

As well as chairing meetings of the Full Council, the Mayor is responsible for representing and promoting the town at every opportunity. They attend numerous engagements during the year. This may range from a resident’s 100th birthday celebration to the opening of a new business or attending the AGM of a local organisation. If you would like the mayor to attend your event you can contact office@haslemeretc.org.

The council also regularly meet with the police as well as operate CCTV cameras to help protect residents, businesses, and facilities. They are currently working closely with the Chamber of Trade and are looking to implement a new crime reporting system, DISC. This is designed to speed up crime reporting and facilitate better information sharing with other towns and Surrey police.

Climate and Biodiversity

In 2019 the Haslemere Town Council declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency. It set up a committee to work with the town to help to reduce carbon emissions and encourage biodiversity. It has done a lot of work in this area over the past few years, both independently and partnering with local groups such as Haslemere Biodiversity Group.

In terms of its own land and assets, the Council has installed solar panels at both public toilet sites along with a sustainable heating and cooling system at the town hall. Single use plastic usage has also been eliminated from the Town Hall and council events.

The Council has also implemented a ‘green grants’ initiative, helping local organisations to fund local green projects.

And, the Council was one of the first in the country to conduct a biodiversity audit across its land. It now has a plan in place to take forward projects to enhance biodiversity in the area. And new, more sustainable, maintenance regimes are being implemented across the council’s land.

Local business and transport

The Council meet regularly with the local Haslemere Chamber of Trade and actively supports joint initiatives that benefit local businesses. Additionally, it coordinates the installation of festive Christmas lights from the High Street down into Weyhill each year. The intention is to create a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere that encourages footfall and supports the local retail economy.

Secondly, a Haslemere Town Council-led working group has been actively lobbying for 20 mph speed limits in Beacon Hill. Following a consultation with residents in early 2025, Surrey County Council approved Beacon Hill as one of 19 'quick win' schemes for 20 mph limits to be delivered over the next year. Preliminary speed surveys and design work are now underway, and Haslemere Town Council plans to play a key role in the upcoming stakeholder consultation to help realise the vision of a 20-mph zone.

Youth

The Council has committed a minimum of £250,000 towards a partnership project with Waverley Borough Council and the Youth Hub to deliver a new, purpose-built youth centre in the town. This significant investment reflects the Council’s dedication to supporting young people and enhancing local services.

In addition, the Council continues to support community organisations such as A Place to Be Youth Club. This group recently received a grant of £5,000 to help sustain its vital work with young residents.

Following sustained investment in the Lion Green playground – including surface improvements, bench refurbishments, equipment replacement and a full inspection and repair of the zip wire – the Council is now focusing its resources on the planned upgrade of the Town Meadow playground to ensure accessible and high-quality play facilities across the parish.

Grants and CIL

The Haslemere Town Council supports the local community through a range of grants options. Small and green grants are available. These provide up to £1,000 for small projects and community events. Revenue grants are also awarded to local organisations to help with their running costs.

In addition to this, the Council holds a significant pot of money awarded from community infrastructure payments (CIL) from developers. This is used to fund or part-fund large infrastructure projects where it can be demonstrated that the need for the project was caused by increased demand due to development. The Council has awarded money to a huge number of projects including improvements at the doctors’ surgery, development of the Link at St Bartholomew’s church and the updating of the pavilion at Beacon Hill football club. It has also provided funding for stage and lighting equipment at Shottermill Junior school and for the resurfacing of the car park at the Golden Valley. Plenty more local projects are in the pipeline.

Events

The Town Council organises events such as the Christmas Carol Service, Remembrance Sunday and Haslemere Walking Festival. It also contributes money and council resources to many other local events, such as the Charter Fair and Haslemere Fringe Festival.

The Council organises and pays for the Christmas lights in Haslemere and funds the Beacon Hill light brigade which provides the lights in Beacon Hill.

The Town Council also organises fundraising events throughout the year such as the dog show, car boots and quiz nights to name a few. These events raise funds for the mayor’s charities.

And finally …

There are a number of things around that town that you have possibly never thought about but are done by the council on a day-to-day basis. Maintaining benches and bus shelters, removing graffiti, assisting members of the public with questions, general grounds maintenance and small repair jobs all fall within their remit. Some recent examples include repairs a well-used bench at a bus stop, removing graffiti from Lower Street and the cleaning of road signs. All examples of how the Council aims to keep our town looking as residents would expect.

How much does all this cost the local taxpayer?

Town and Parish councils are funded by what is called the ‘precept’. This is the portion that Haslemere Town Council gets from its residents’ council tax. Haslemere Town Council’s remains one of the lowest for its size anywhere. It equates to just over a pound a week for an average Haslemere household. In its 2025/2026 budget, it has a budget of £519,610.

How do I find out more?

Much of the information about the Haslemere Town Council can be found on their website. The town council’s administrative area is split into 5 wards, each with ward councillors to represent their constituents. We've included all their details at the bottom of this page. As elected representatives, ward councillors should be working hard behind the scenes on behalf of residents. So a good starting point if you need help or want to find out more is to contact your ward councillor directly or via the town hall office. If you would like to find out more about the Council and keep up to speed on what they are doing, you can also subscribe to their electronic newsletter.

Committee meetings (except for staffing), are open to the public. Meetings are held on Thursdays at 7pm at the Town Hall unless otherwise stated. If you would like to attend a meeting, you can find out when the next relevant committee meetings are here. For those that can't attend in person, they will soon have a video conferencing system so that full council meetings (and eventually all committee meetings), will also be broadcast live for residents to access remotely.

Who is on the Haslemere Town Council?

Alastair Bayliss: alastair.bayliss@haslemeretc.org

Farzana Aslam: farzana.aslam@haslemeretc.org

Jacquie Keen: jacquie.keen@haslemeretc.org

Lesley Banfield: lesley.banfield@haslemeretc.org

John Robini: john.robini@haslemeretc.org

Tom Bridge: tom.bridge@haslemeretc.org

Claire Matthes: claire.matthes@haslemeretc.org

Bryan Carroll: bryan.carroll@haslemeretc.org

Peter Nicholson: peter.nicholson@haslemeretc.org

Oli Leach: oli.leach@haslemeretc.org

Jean Arrick: jean.arrick@haslemeretc.org