Mole Valley District | |
|---|---|
 Bridge over theRiver Mole atLeatherhead | |
| Motto(s): Ministrando vigilans (Latin: Vigilant in our serving) | |
 Mole Valley shown within Surrey | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East England |
| Non-metropolitan county | Surrey |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district |
| Admin HQ | Dorking |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | Mole Valley District Council |
| Area | |
• Total | 99.7 sq mi (258.3 km2) |
| • Rank | 133rd(of 296) Highest point :Leith Hill |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 88,709 |
| • Rank | 272nd(of 296) |
| • Density | 889.5/sq mi (343.4/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 43UE (ONS) E07000210 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TQ0496458567 |
Mole Valley is alocal government district inSurrey, England. Its council is based inDorking, and the district's other town isLeatherhead. The largest villages areAshtead,Fetcham andGreat Bookham, in the northern third of the district.
Most of the district is on the escarpments of or adjoins theSurrey Hills, a designatedArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which cover parts of theNorth Downs andGreensand Ridge, including locallyLeith Hill,Polesden Lacey andBox Hill.Denbies Wine Estate, the largestvineyard in the country, is on the hills north-west of Dorking.[2] ThePilgrims' Way footpath runs along the North Downs. There are stations on theLondon–Worthing andReading–Gatwick Airport railways, and in the northern third, acommuter stopping-service pattern line,London–Guildford (via Epsom) line.
TheA24 road and theM25 motorway are the main thoroughfares and relative to London the incidence of car ownership is high. Between 2011 and its final iteration in 2019, the area hosted hill-focused sub-laps of theLondon–Surrey Classic cycling tour, an event established as preparation for the visit to Mole Valley of the2012 Olympic Games Road Races.
The neighbouring districts areEpsom and Ewell,Reigate and Banstead,Crawley,Horsham,Waverley,Guildford,Elmbridge and theLondon boroughKingston upon Thames.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering three former districts which were all abolished at the same time:[3][4]
The new district was named after theRiver Mole, which flows through the area.[5]
The formerLeatherhead Urban District, which includedAshtead,Fetcham,Great Bookham andLittle Bookham, is anunparished area, as is the majority of the formerDorking Urban District.[6][7]
The rest of the district is covered bycivil parishes:[8][9]
ALegatum Prosperity Index published by theLegatum Institute in October 2016 showed Mole Valley as the second most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom, after the nearbyBorough of Waverley.[10]
| Church | Place | Listed building Class |
|---|---|---|
| St Michael | Betchworth | I[11] |
| St Nicolas | Great Bookham | I[12] |
| All Saints | Little Bookham | II* |
| St Nicholas | Charlwood | I[13] |
| St Michael | Mickleham | I[14] |
| St John the Evangelist | Wotton | I[15] |
| St Mary & St Nicholas | Leatherhead | II*[16] |
| St Barnabas | Ranmore Common | II*[17] |
| St Mary | Pixham | II*[18] |
| St Martin | Dorking | II*[19] |
| St Mary | Fetcham | II*[20] |
| St Giles | Ashtead | II*[21] |
| St James | Abinger Common | II*[22] |
| Holy Trinity | Westcott | II*[23] |
| St Bartholomew | Leigh | II*[24] |
| St Margaret | Ockley | II*[25] |
| St John the Baptist | Walliswood | II*[26] |
Mole Valley is served by these emergency services:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
51°18′57.68″N0°29′37.31″W / 51.3160222°N 0.4936972°W /51.3160222; -0.4936972
