Woking council meetings, 30 Sep to 1 Oct: the town-centre saturation zone, a new taxi policy, a 3.3% staff pay rise and a West Surrey council tax support decision.

Three meetings are held at Woking’s Civic Offices between Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October. The one to watch is the Licensing Committee, which decides whether to scrap the town centre’s 19-year-old saturation zone. The others set staff pay and hear a decision on council tax support for the new West Surrey council.

All three are in the Council Chamber, Civic Offices, Gloucester Square, GU21 6YL. They are open to the public. The council’s meetings calendar holds every agenda.

Licensing Committee: Wednesday 30 September, 7pm

Agenda and papers, published 22 September. Three decisions:

  • The saturation zone. Officers recommend scrapping the town-centre Cumulative Impact Assessment, in force since 2007, which presumes against new licences for pubs, bars, shops selling alcohol and late-night takeaways. Surrey Police says it no longer does its job. Of 229 consultation responses, 52% opposed limits on licensed premises. Our full report: Woking saturation zone to go after 19 years.
  • Statement of Licensing Policy 2026-2031. The current policy expires on 14 October 2026. The consultation from 27 July to 7 September drew one response, about how easy it is to find premises licence information. No changes are proposed (report). We covered what the draft changes, including drink spiking training, in August.
  • Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy. The first full review since 2020. The consultation from 29 June to 7 August drew six responses. Changes since the draft add wording on accessibility, after feedback from wheelchair users, and on safeguarding (report). A late submission from a private hire operator objected to the knowledge test for private hire drivers. It led to no change.

Both policies then go to Full Council on Thursday 15 October for adoption.

West Surrey Shadow Authority Executive: Thursday 1 October, 9.30am

An extraordinary meeting with one key decision: the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for West Surrey Council, which replaces Woking, Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath and Waverley councils, and the county council’s services in those areas, on 1 April 2027. The scheme decides how much help people on low incomes get with their council tax bill. The report is marked “to follow”, so it was not public when the agenda went out on 23 September (agenda).

Four of the ten executive members sit for Woking wards: Ann-Marie Barker, Ellen Nicholson, Leslie Rice and Dale Roberts.

How to ask a question: email it to monitoring.officer@westsurrey.gov.uk by noon on Monday 28 September.

Employment Committee: Thursday 1 October, 7pm

Agenda and papers, published 23 September. Two items:

  • Staff pay rise of 3.3%, backdated to 1 April 2026 and paid through the November payroll. It follows the national local government settlement agreed at the end of August. The lowest point on the council’s pay scale rises to £25,949 a year, or £13.45 an hour, in line with the Real Living Wage. That is a 5.8% rise for the three staff on it (report).
  • An Agile Working Policy. Staff in hybrid roles would normally spend about three days a week at a council workplace and up to two days working remotely. The policy says remote working “is not an entitlement” (report).

The budget had allowed for a 3% rise, and the report puts the full cost at £640,000, including on-costs. That left a gap of £21,209, which is covered by lower pension deficit payments after an actuarial review found the pension fund fully funded.

What it means for you

  • Night out or new venue: the licensing vote on 30 September decides whether new pubs, bars and late takeaways in the town centre face a presumption of refusal.
  • On council tax support: the 1 October decision affects anyone who gets a council tax reduction now, from April 2027. We will report the scheme’s detail once the report is published.
  • Council tax payers: the pay award does not add to this year’s budget, according to the report.

Sources: Woking Borough Council and West Surrey Shadow Authority agendas and reports on woking.moderngov.co.uk, published 22 and 23 September 2026.