Reigate & Banstead Borough Council turns 50
On 1 April 2024 Reigate & Banstead turned 50! The half century will be marked throughout the year by holding a series of special events, including tree planting across the borough and a photography competition.
We share this milestone with many other borough councils also established under the Local Government Act of 1972 (wikipedia.org), which brought major changes to the local government system and reduced the number of councils from 1,245 to 412.
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council was created on 1 April 1974 when the Borough of Reigate was combined with Banstead Urban District to form the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. It also included Horley, Salfords and Sidlow, which was previously in Dorking and Horley Rural District.
Events and activities
Share your photos and memories #RBBC50
Take part in our 50 years celebrations by sharing your favourite memory, moment or thing about our borough from the last 50 years on social media by uploading photos using #RBBC50
How the hashtag (#) works
By using #RBBC50 within your post on social media (X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) it becomes a clickable, searchable link. For example, when you click on #RBBC50 (or search for it on your chosen social media platform) you will see all the images and videos published on that platform using that hashtag. Please note the hashtag does not give image/video usage or reposting permissions.
If you are not on social media but still would like to share your photos with us please post them to (and include your contact details): #RBBC50, Communications Team, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Town Hall, Castlefield Road, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 0SH (we do not accept responsibility for any photos lost in the post and cannot return your images to you).
Flickr online gallery
We would like to showcase some of the photos on our Flickr online gallery, so please do not be surprised if we contact you to request permission for us to either repost on our social media account(s) or add to the images within our Flickr #RBBC50 online gallery.
Reigate & Banstead Volunteer Awards
In addition to the annual Volunteer Awards ceremony, the Mayor of Reigate & Banstead will celebrate a Long Serving Volunteer award in an extra category as part of our 50 years celebrations. Further information can be found on our Volunteer Awards webpage.
Nominations close on 31 May with an awards ceremony in July 2024.
Civic events and activities
The Mayor’s office has organised the following events:
- Alderman and Freeman installations: a resolution has been past to install two Freemen and two Aldermen this year as part of our 50 year anniversary (only three Freemen have been installed in the last 50 years).
- Leader’s badge of office: produced as part of the 50 year anniversary to be worn at official events
- Leader’s board: a historic record of the Leaders of the Council since 1974, to be installed in the Town Hall
Other activities - coming soon
Please check our website and social media channels for further updates.