Newsletter - Wed 4 Jun, 2025

By David Grantham

In this issue: two schemes to build upwards in Reigate town centre have been rejected; community pub the Garibaldi has been lauded in parliament; RBBC has a new mayor; a local enterprise is now on Ocado; and more.

News in brief

An open singing day is being hosted by the English Arts Chorale at St Mary’s Church, Reigate, on Saturday (7 June). “Join us for an exhilarating day singing Karl Jenkins' popular The Armed Man, under the inspiring leadership of the EAC's Founding Director Leslie Olive, in the eightieth anniversary year of the ending of World War 2.” Details and prices here (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

Pizza news #1: A new pizza option has opened within the Oven Fresh Bakery in Woodhatch. At the moment LeQuattro Porte (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) is open for collection only, 2pm - 9pm Wed-Sat, and noon - 8pm on Sundays.

Pizza news #2: a new Pizza Express is coming to the borough council’s Rise development in Redhill (home to the Light cinema). A Pizza Express spokesperson said last week that opening will be “in Summer 2025”. 17 jobs (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) will be created. An alcohol licence has been granted (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) until midnight Mon-Sat, 11.30 pm Sundays.

Pizza news #3: - Pizza GoGo, in Holmesdale Road, has won permission (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) to stay open until 1 am Mon-Thu, and 2 am Fri-Sun. Those hours are for home delivery; collection is restricted to midnight.

Emily Lodge: Surrey County Council has opened (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) a facility in Woking that will offer short breaks for adults with additional needs, allowing their family carers some rest time. A similar site in Banstead is under construction.

‘Courage’ is the theme for new mayor’s year

Councillor Rich Michalowski was elected as mayor of Reigate & Banstead, and Cllr Zelanie Cooper (Independent) deputy mayor, at the annual council meeting on 22 May.

Cllr Michalowski (Conservative, Redhill West & Wray Common) has chosen 'courage' as the theme for his mayoralty. He said: “It is a great honour to be elected Mayor. I’m looking forward to meeting residents, businesses, local groups from across the borough, and supporting my nominated charities: I Choose Freedom, and Home-Start East Surrey (HSES).

“In the year ahead, I want to focus my efforts on serving the borough’s communities with a passion. During my mayoralty, I would like to give people courage - courage to face challenges, courage to say ‘hello’, courage to say, ‘I need help’, courage to say, ‘That's not OK’, courage to make a change for you and for yours, and courage to work with our neighbours as we embark on reorganisation.”

I Choose Freedom (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) is a charity that provides refuge and a path to freedom to adult and child survivors fleeing domestic abuse, while Home-Start East Surrey (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) provides emotional and practical support to families with children under the age of 12 who are struggling to cope with difficulties such as disability, mental health, isolation and bereavement.

Primary school teacher Cllr Cooper (Independent, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth and Walton), the new deputy mayor, also said she was looking forward to supporting and finding out more about the residents and community groups within the borough.

Community pub praised in parliament

2025 has seen a number of Conservative MPs across the country running ‘Best Pub’ competitions in their constituency, including our MP here in Reigate. The article below is from Chris Caulfield, Local Democracy Reporter, 23 May.

An “amazing” not-for-profit community pub has topped a poll of best watering holes – and even got a shout-out in the House of Commons for “the special place that it is”.

The Garibaldi Community Pub (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) in Redhill received hundreds of votes from pub-lovers throughout the Reigate constituency to take best overall pub and best community pub in MP Rebecca Paul’s Best Pubs 2025 competition.

The results were announced on Monday, when Paul seized the opportunity during a debate secured on the topic of Government community funding and support for local pubs.

Speaking inside the House of Commons, she said (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre): “In Redhill, we have an amazing pub called the Garibaldi, which is a community pub, a not-for-profit pub, that gives back to the community in so many ways.

“On walking in, you feel the warmth straight away from Shiv, Juliette and the other volunteers, who are always there to give a welcome with a smile.

“There is always something going on: quizzes, karaoke, Bhunnys street food—even a book club. My personal favourites are the forces fry-ups for veterans on a Saturday morning—sometimes I go along to help serve the tea, coffee and toast; I normally do it quite badly—and of course music bingo.

“Out back, there is the community garden, which has been transformed with the help of the Garibaldi gardening group volunteers, which is now accessible to everyone, including young adults with special needs who visit with YMCA East Surrey.

Paul added: “Every bit of profit they make gets ploughed back into things that benefit the community.

“They are there for the benefit of Redhill residents, not for any other reason, and they are extremely good at what they do.

“That is incredibly clear whenever I visit. People from all walks of life sitting side by side with friends and neighbours enjoying a chat and a drink, all part of making the Garibaldi the special place that it is.”

The Garibaldi’s manager Shiv Lewis said they really appreciated the support they had received.

She added: “We are truly honoured to receive these awards and would like to thank our community and our local MP Rebecca Paul for all the support.

“We hope to remain a vital community space for many years to come.”

Other category winners included The Sportsman in Mogador for Best Family Pub and the Well House Inn, in Mugswell, for best food and drink and best pub garden.

The community ownership fund used to provide groups the opportunity to buy valued buildings, and had awarded more than £135 million to 409 projects across the UK, including several community pubs. The fund is no longer available.

During the debate Paul asked the minister if the Government had plans to introduce new money to help support the purchase of valuable community assets by the community.

She said: “The minister acknowledged the importance and success of the community ownership fund and that, after the multi-year spending review, there will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.

“The Garibaldi has stood on Mill Street for 150 years. It has survived two world wars, multiple recessions and two global pandemics. It has seen Redhill transform around it into the modern, bustling town it is today, but it is now at risk if the funds cannot be raised to buy the building. Rather ironically, this pub is so much more than bricks and mortar, but it needs to buy the bricks and mortar if it is to survive”, Paul told parliament.

Bread-to-beer business teams up with national retailer

Beer from Reigate-based Crumbs Brewing is now available from national retailer Ocado.

Husband-and-wife team Morgan and Elaine Arnell launched Crumbs back in 2017 (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), using leftover loaves from Chalk Hills Bakery.

The business has since expanded to use unsold and surplus bread from a network of artisan bakers across the UK, furthering Crumbs’ aim to fight food waste.

Morgan Arnell said: “We’ve come a long way since we originally partnered with our local bakery in Surrey to turn their unsold loaves into delicious brews.”

“Their passion for the bakes they created inspired us to make the best possible brews from the left-over loaves they gave us. Just because something is waste doesn't mean you should be any less demanding of its quality.

“As we’ve continued to source more surplus loaves from a network of like-minded artisan bakers across the UK, it's fitting that Ocado have agreed to support us in getting our beers to more people all over the UK.”

Crumbs (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) has gained access to Ocado’s 500,000 customers-a-week via IND!E, a retail growth platform for challenger brands and which has a shop on Ocado.

Extra floors rejected in London Road