East Surrey Council: what the change in April 2027 means for Epsom businesses

On 1 April 2027, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council stops being the council that runs your bins, your licences and your business rates. So does Surrey County Council, for this part of the county. Both hand their services to a single new authority, East Surrey Council.

When the government confirmed the plan, the local government minister called it a once-in-a-generation reform. Most of it will happen out of sight. For a business in Epsom, Ewell or Stoneleigh, the practical effects are smaller than the headlines suggest, but there are a few things worth knowing and a few worth checking before next spring. Everything below is from the councils' own published information, linked, as of the date on this page.

What is actually changing

According to Surrey-i, Surrey County Council's data site, two new unitary councils will replace the county's eleven district and borough councils and the county council itself. From 1 April 2027, they will deliver all the public services those twelve councils provide now.

East Surrey Council will cover the current areas of:

• Elmbridge
• Epsom & Ewell
• Mole Valley
• Reigate & Banstead
• Tandridge

West Surrey will bring together Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking.

Elections to the new councils were held on 7 May 2026, and 72 councillors were elected to East Surrey across 36 wards. Until April 2027 they sit as a shadow authority, whose job, in the words of the Surrey LGR Hub, is putting the new council in place so that services can transfer smoothly.

When Business Surrey reported the government's decision in October 2025, it listed the services the new councils would deliver as including waste collection, planning, adult social care, children's services, business rates, parks and highways.

Is it still happening?

Yes, on current information. In September 2026 the government launched a national review of local government reorganisation, and Surrey County Council said on 7 September that the government had confirmed Surrey's reorganisation would not be affected, and that the programme remained on track for the new councils to start on 1 April 2027.

The day after, the LGR Hub reported that Woodhatch Place in Reigate had been recommended as the preferred location for East Surrey Council's main office building from 1 April 2027.

What is not changing yet

Until 1 April 2027, nothing changes in who you deal with. The LGR Hub says the existing county, borough and district councils operate as normal until then, and that anyone with an enquiry about a council service should keep contacting their existing council. The shadow councillors can answer questions about the new council, but cannot deal with service enquiries or individual casework.

So if you have a licence renewal, a planning application or a business rates query this winter, it goes where it always has.

What an Epsom business should check

None of this is urgent, and none of it needs outside help. If you are also looking for support that is open now, see business support in Surrey in 2026. But a little preparation now saves broken links and confused customers later.

Where your website points to the council. Many local businesses link to council pages: a premises licence, a street trading consent, a market pitch, parking information for customers, a planning decision. When the new council's websites replace the old ones, some of those addresses may change. Make a list now, so you can check them once East Surrey Council's website is live.

Where your paperwork names the council. Terms and conditions, licence numbers quoted on your website, and customer information about local services may all name Epsom & Ewell Borough Council. They will need a light edit after April 2027.

Your listings. If your Google Business Profile, Bing Places listing or directory entries say anything about the council, such as being a council-approved supplier or licensed by a named council, keep a note to update them too.

Your say on the new websites. In September 2026, the LGR Hub invited residents, businesses and community groups to take part in a survey to help shape the future council websites. If you regularly use council services for your business, it is a chance to say what you need to find.

Why it matters beyond the admin

Reorganisation changes who makes decisions about the things that shape trade in Epsom: planning, highways, parking, and the priorities for town centres, which is where Epsom's Business Improvement District already works. Those decisions will now be made across a much larger area, from Elmbridge to Tandridge.

When the decision was announced, the chairman of the Surrey Business Leaders Forum, Chris Hurren, said the business community welcomed the certainty for the county's "1.2 million residents and 110,000 businesses". Whether a larger council serves Epsom's town centre better or worse is something only time will show. What a business can do is know who its councillors on the new authority are, which the LGR Hub lists, and use local networks such as Go Epsom and the Epsom Business Club to make its voice heard. We wrote about how to choose which local networks are worth your time.

A short checklist

The ticks are saved in this browser.

• I know my existing council still handles my services until 1 April 2027.
• I have listed every link from my website to a council page.
• I have noted where my terms, paperwork or listings name the council.
• I know who my East Surrey councillors are.
• I am following the Surrey LGR Hub for updates.

Getting found locally does not depend on who runs the council, but it does depend on your listings and website being accurate. Our marketing for businesses in Epsom and Ewell page covers the rest.