Starting this month, July, the location of Merstham Councillor’s monthly surgery will move to 44 Portland Drive.

The surgeries take place every 1st Saturday of the month and are an open opportunity for residents to meet with their local borough and county councillors and raise local issues. Surgeries start at 10:00am until 12:00 and residents are welcome to turn up with out an appointment.

For further details, please contact on of the councillors, contact can be found by clicking on on the links at the top of the menu on the left hand side. 

Voluntary and community organisations are being invited to apply for grant funding by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council to ensure that their important work can continue.

The grants for the 2010/2011 financial year are part of the Council’s ongoing support to the borough’s voluntary sector.

The Borough Council provides grants in a range of ways:

* Core Funding for organisations delivering services in partnership with the Council providing an agreed level of grant support on a three year rolling basis.

* Capital Grants of £5,000 to £20,000 (including grants under the Surrey Community Buildings Grant Scheme) which are paid to meet the cost of major projects such as building works.

Last Year the Council awarded over £450,000 in grants to the voluntary and community sector as well as providing over £115,000 in additional financial support through rental grant subsidy and discretionary rate relief.

Cllr Dr Daniel Poulter, Executive Member for Partnership and Communities, said: “The Council recognises and values the important contribution that the voluntary sector makes to the lives of people who live and work in the borough. The aim of these grants is to support these voluntary groups to ensure that their vital work can continue.

As well as assessing how applicants contribute to the quality of life of the community, the Council will also consider the organisation's financial reserves, alternative sources of funding, future business plans and any other support provided by the Council (e.g. concessionary rents, discretionary rate relief) in determining the level of grant.

Cllr Dr Poulter added: “We anticipate a large number of applications, and although there is a significant budget, the Council will be unable to award grants to all who apply. We strive to make the application process as fair as possible, to ensure that Council tax payers’ money goes where it will make the most difference.”

The deadline for the receipt of completed applications is Friday 4 September 2009. Decisions on the applications will be announced in December and successful applicants will receive funding in April 2010.

For more information regarding voluntary sector grants or an application pack visit the Council’s website: www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/vsgrants. Alternatively contact Kamal Mehmood, Partnerships Co-ordinator, on 01737 276000 or email kamal.mehmood@reigate-banstead.gov.uk.

A new recycling service for businesses has been launched by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council.

The business recycling service will enable local businesses to recycle their paper and cardboard waste, thereby reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill and potentially saving money on their overall waste disposal costs.

Cllr Julian Ellacott, Executive Member for Environment, said: “We are always looking at ways to increase recycling in the Borough. Feedback from local businesses indicated that they would like to recycle more and so we have launched our own business recycling service in response to demand.

“The advantage of the new recycling service is that it costs 20 per cent less than the Council’s normal business waste collection service, so we hope we will get lots of businesses signing up to the scheme.”

Walton Heath Manor Care Home in Walton on the Hill is one of the many business which have already subscribed to the service.

The Home’s Matron, Teresa Chandler, said: “Our residents have been very proactive in wanting to recycle more. We generate a lot of waste paper as many of our residents take daily newspapers or have magazines. The Council’s -business recycling service means all that waste paper that would otherwise have gone to landfill is now being recycled.”

Businesses that sign up to the service can choose one of two bin sizes, depending on the amount they expect to recycle - a 240 litre recycling bin (large wheeled bin) or a 1,100 litre bin (commercial size bin).

Cllr Ellacott added: “The service currently collects paper and card but we intend to expand it to include other recyclable materials in the future.”