Woking News
The latest Woking news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Woking Music Festival at 100: Entries Close Sunday 6pm
Entries for Woking Music Festival's 100th year close at 6pm on Sunday 4 October. 328 classes from £7.50, run 6 to 29 November at St John's and two schools.
More stories
What's on
Hadestown at Woking Theatre: 12-16 Oct 2027, From £20
Hadestown plays Woking Theatre for eight shows from Tuesday 12 to Saturday 16 October 2027. Tickets on sale from today, 2 October, from £20 plus an 80p fee.
Woking
Woking Council Tax Support: 2,206 Claimants Face Cuts
West Surrey's draft scheme would cut help for 2,206 of Woking's 2,212 working-age claimants from April 2027, with a 15% minimum bill. Consultation approved.
Licensing
Woking Saturation Zone to Go After 19 Years, Police Agree
Woking's town-centre curb on new pubs, bars and takeaways, in force since 2007, should be scrapped, council officers say. Surrey Police agrees. Vote on 30 September.
Council
Woking Council This Week: Saturation Zone, 3.3% Staff Pay
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.
What's on
Woking This Weekend: Mizens Railway's Last Sunday of 2026
Things to do in Woking, 25 to 27 September: Mizens Railway's season finale with cream teas, Curious Incident's last three shows from £17, and a free Lightbox tour.
Planning
Woking Planning Applications: 7-Bed HMO, Two New Pavilions
26 new Woking planning applications: a 7-bedroom HMO on Board School Road, two sports pavilions, Woking High School classrooms. Comment deadlines from 5 October.
Food hygiene
Woking Food Hygiene: Chertsey Road Restaurant Rated 1
The Royal Masala on Chertsey Road was rated 1 in August. It is one of 16 August ratings below a 5 that only reached the register after our last roundup.
Business
New Woking Companies: 71 Registered Since 1 September
Two barbers, a Knaphill pizza takeaway and a dog daycare are among 71 companies set up in Woking borough postcodes this month. Five firms are in insolvency notices.
Crime
Woking Shoplifting Up 63%: 421 Reports in a Year
Shoplifting reports within a mile of central Woking rose from 258 to 421 in the year to July 2026. Drugs offences fell by a third and public order by 16%.
Business
Woking Street Trading: £1,240 a Year, £50 for Charities
Woking's proposed Street Trading Policy sets fees at £1,240 for a new year-long consent, £135 for a day and £50 for charity events. Comments close 15 November.
Planning
Cornerstone Woking: Games Room Could Become Four Flats
The council's own housing company wants The Cornerstone's unused games room, library and kitchen turned into four studio flats. Comments close 5 October.
Community
Woking Car Show: Record Crowd and a 1956 Ford F100 Win
More than 100 cars filled Woking town centre on 20 September. A 1956 Ford F100 won the public vote by three to one, on the council's highest footfall yet.
Housing
Lakeview Estate Woking: 85 Leaseholders Face Repair Bills
Woking has awarded the contract to refurbish 14 Lakeview blocks. Cladding costs are waived, but windows, doors and roofs are recharged. The bill is exempt.
Bins and waste
Woking Fridge Collections Paused: Use Martyrs Lane
Woking has suspended fridge and freezer collections with no end date. Martyrs Lane still takes them, and collections already booked will still go ahead.
Business
McLaren £500m Investment: 1,000 UK Jobs by 2032
1,000 new McLaren jobs by 2032, but the £500m names South Yorkshire and a plant with no announced location. Woking's share of the jobs is not stated.
Council
Woking Approves Sale of Triangle Site and Goldsworth Park
£72m of council property sold so far, £54m under offer. Five more holdings approved on 16 September, the Triangle site among them. Call-in ends 24 September.
House Prices
Woking House Prices: £439,916 in July, Fall Nearly Gone
Woking's annual fall shrank from 3.0% to 0.3% in a month, to an average £439,916. Flats fell 2.6% while semis and terraces rose. Only Spelthorne is cheaper.
Jobs
Woking Claimant Count: Under-25s Hit 345, Highest Since 2021
Woking's under-25 claimant count reached 345 in August, the highest since May 2021 and more than double the 2022 low. The borough total held at 1,810.
Community
Working Together for Woking: 49 Groups In for 12 November
Woking's voluntary sector fair returns to Woking Leisure Centre on 12 November. 49 groups have signed up, and charities can book a free stall until 28 October.
Woking
West Surrey Council Chief Executive Named on £236,485
Susan Halliwell will be paid £236,485 to run the council that takes over Woking's services in April 2027. Nine people applied and the vote was unanimous.
Woking
Woking Council Still Closes in 2027 Despite National Pause
Ministers paused council mergers across England on 7 September, but not in Surrey. Woking Borough Council still ends on 31 March 2027, date unchanged.
Woking
Woking Lidl Refused: Quadrant Court Could Hold 45 Homes
Woking refused Lidl's Quadrant Court store on 4 September. A single-storey shop with a 117-space car park wastes a town centre site, officers ruled.
Brookwood
Brookwood Cemetery Mausoleum: 84 New Chambers From October
Brookwood Cemetery's community mausoleums are full. Six new blocks with 84 chambers start in October; see the plans in the north chapel until Sunday.
Woking
Woking Mayor Set to Survive Council Abolition in 2027
Woking's mayoralty passes to charter trustees on 1 April 2027 if ministers agree. Pyrford becomes the borough's first parish council on the same day.
Woking
Woking Council Complaints Doubled to 72 in One Quarter
Complaints to Woking Borough Council rose from 35 in the first quarter to 72 in the fourth, and the council says AI tools may be part of the reason.
Sheerwater
Spencer Close Sheerwater: 18 Flats to Go for a Road
Officers back demolishing a boarded-up block on Spencer Close, empty since June 2022, to build an 83-metre road. Woking's committee decides on 15 September.
Woking
Woking Debt: Government Repays First £8m of £500m
The government settled an £8 million Woking loan on 1 September, the first of £500 million it repays by March 2027. The borough owes about £2.2 billion.
Woking
Woking Care Home: 76 Beds to Replace 1970s Lion House
Officers backed a 76-bed care home on Oriental Road, next to the Grade I listed Shah Jahan Mosque. The register still records no decision six days on.
Horsell
Horsell Play Area Shuts Monday, Reopens 18 September
Queen Elizabeth Gardens play area in Horsell closes on Monday 7 September for about two weeks. A new roundabout, monkey bars and resurfaced safety flooring.
Woking
30 Bears Come to Woking in 2027: Artists Paid £1,000
The Big Bear Stomp puts 30 sculptures across Woking, Weybridge and Walton in summer 2027. Artists have until 16 December to submit, and the fee is £1,000.
Woking
£3.6m Autism Centre Opens at Woking's St John the Baptist
The Aquinas Centre on Elmbridge Lane is complete: 30 places for autistic secondary pupils. Surrey County Council fills them, not the school. Six a year.
Woking
Veolia to Run Woking's Bins in £632m 21-Year Deal
Veolia takes over Woking's bin rounds on 6 June 2027, beating Biffa and Suez. The award notice values the four-council deal at £632m with VAT, over 21 years.
Food hygiene
Woking Food Hygiene Ratings: No Zeros Left in Borough
No Woking food business now holds a 0 rating, after the last one was re-scored in July. But 27 venues sit on a 1, and every single one failed on the same thing.
Woking
Woking Firm's £10,000 Buys 380 Hours of Hospice Care
Fernox in Sheerwater has given £10,000 to Woking Hospice: about 380 hours of care at a charity that outspent its income by £1.1m last year.
Woking
Woking Council Tax Support Scheme to Be Replaced by 2027
3,400 Woking households claim council tax support. West Surrey Council replaces the borough's scheme from April 2027, with a draft consulted on from October.
Woking
Woking's Last Air Pollution Zone Is Being Revoked
No Woking monitoring site has breached the nitrogen dioxide limit since 2020. The council is revoking the Guildford Road zone, but the map has not caught up.
Woking
New Firm Takes Over Woking Bin Rounds on 6 June 2027
Amey is leaving the waste market, so Woking's bins pass to a new contractor in June 2027. The council has committed £4.2m towards a replacement lorry fleet.
Woking
Woking Bin Collections Are Normal on Bank Holiday Monday
Joint Waste Solutions says Woking rounds run as usual on Monday 31 August. Martyrs Lane tip opens 8am to 4pm, and crews have been starting early in the heat.
Horsell
Horsell Cricket Club Padel Plan: Lights On Until 10pm
A covered, floodlit padel court is proposed at Woking and Horsell Cricket Club with no car parking at all. Comments close on Friday 18 September.
Woking
Woking Haulier Atlas Bulk Carriers Sold After 37 Years
The Smart's Heath Lane grab hire firm entered administration on 27 July and sold the same day for £314,256. Creditors face a £732,000 shortfall.
West Byfleet
West Byfleet Library: Permission to Stay Runs Out Today
The library's five-year temporary consent at the Old Sorting Office expires on 26 August. Surrey County Council wants another year while Botanical Place is fitted out.
Woking
Woking Homelessness: 181 Helped, Up 21% in a Year
York Road Project supported 181 people in 2025-26, up 21% on the year, while the government's autumn count of rough sleepers in Woking fell from 8 to 6.
Education
Woking GCSE Results 2026: Bishop David Brown Best on Record
Bishop David Brown posted its highest Attainment 8 yet at 48.06, and Hoe Valley 25.11% of grades at 9-7. Three of Woking's five state secondaries published no figures at all.
Planning
Woking 24-Storey Tower Plan: 585 Units, Comments by 8 Sep
Two linked towers of 16 and 24 storeys with 585 units are proposed for cleared land off Chobham Road. No affordable housing is committed. Comments close 8 September.
Business
P J Construction (Surrey): Send Contractor in Liquidation
The Send civil engineering firm went into creditors' voluntary liquidation on 14 August, nine months after its directors signed off £750,268 of net assets.
House prices
Woking house prices fall £12,057 in a year to £433,790
The average Woking home sold for £433,790 in June, down £12,057 on the year. Only 62 of England's 295 districts fell, and Woking's is the 23rd steepest.
Banking
Halifax Woking closes 23 September: what replaces it
Halifax closes its Commercial Way branch and its cash machine on 23 September. LINK ordered no replacement services. Where its 411 regulars can bank instead.
What's On
Woking Car Show 2026: Sunday 20 September, 11am-4pm, free
Woking Car Show 2026 is on Sunday 20 September, 11am to 4pm, free. Vehicle entries have closed; lower Commercial Way shuts to traffic and Victoria Place is £4.
Education
Woking College A-Level Results: 99% Pass, 417 First Choices
A 99% pass rate across A level and vocational courses, 55% of students at A*, A, B or Distinction, and 417 into their first-choice university. How it compares nationally.
Licensing
Woking Licensing Policy: Drink Spiking Rules, Views by 6 Sep
Woking's draft licensing policy would ask pubs and bars to train staff on spiking and offer drink covers or test kits. Comments close on Sunday 6 September.
Planning
Woking Conservation Area Could Grow: Have Your Say by 31 Aug
The council wants to add Commercial Buildings (63 to 75 Commercial Way) to the town centre conservation area. Comments close 31 August: what the three draft appraisals propose.
Community
LinkAble Inclusive Games at Woking Sportsbox on 25 August
Boccia, adapted cycling, walking football, adapted rounders and table tennis, 10:30am to 4pm on Tuesday 25 August at Woking Sportsbox. Adults £12, under-18s £7, carers free.
Woking FC
Woking FC crowd cap lifted: 3,000 limit ends after 4 months
Surrey County Council has lifted the 3,000 cap at the Laithwaite Community Stadium after safety work and a test run at the Sutton United game on 8 August.
Byfleet
Cat-Fest: Byfleet Cat Rescue's free fun day on 5 September
Byfleet Cat Rescue's biggest fundraiser runs 1pm to 5pm on Saturday 5 September at Caenwood Close, Weybridge. Free entry, opened by patron Peter Egan.
Business
Sweet Passion Cakes: West Byfleet patisserie in liquidation
The West Byfleet patisserie shut on 5 July after 12 years and is now in creditors' voluntary liquidation. What the record shows and what creditors do next.
Jobs
Woking claimant count flat at 1,795 in June, below UK rate
1,795 people in Woking borough claimed unemployment benefits in June, level with a year earlier; the 2.7% rate undercuts the South East (3.1%) and UK (3.9%).
Food hygiene
Woking Food Hygiene Ratings July 2026: 16 Fives, 13 Lower
Woking's 16 July 2026 fives were published first. Thirteen lower July ratings, including three 1s, reached the register later. Corrected 24 September 2026.