The county council’s leader, Dr Andrew Povey, has this week launched a blog to talk directly to Surrey residents.
His first message focused on the thorny issue of minerals sites in the county and his appearance on the BBC’s Politics show to discuss the topic.
With the council about to submit its draft minerals plan to the Government, Dr Povey used the blog to tell people they would still have ample opportunity to have their say on sites.
“If the Government signs off the plan, the sites we have identified will only be developed if a private company applies to do so and gets it through the planning process,” he said.
“Surrey has fought tooth and nail to reduce the Government’s centrally imposed targets on minerals. Even when the proposed quota was more than halved we pushed even further and succeeded in reducing it by another 50,000 tonnes. And my determination to preserve the county’s unique and beautiful countryside means none of the potential sites fall within designated Areas of Great Landscape Value.”