From Monday 3 October residents likely to be most impacted by the high cost of heating bills will be able to apply for a Sustainable Warmth grant. If you have a household income of less than £30,000 a year you could get a grant to fund heating and insulation measures. Locally, the scheme will be delivered and managed by Action Surrey.

Surrey County Council together with Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, contractor Atkins and Sustrans have developed a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) for the borough. The plan identifies a number of improvements to walking and cycling routes to be delivered over the next 10 years. These enhancements will update or supplement parts of the current network to support health and well-being and the environment by encouraging more cycling and walking in the borough.

Do you have an idea that would benefit the mental or physical health of the community? Organisations, groups or residents can apply for venue hire at our Horley and Woodhatch Community Centres funded as part of an East Surrey Place NHS initiative. East Surrey Place is one of four ‘places’ within Surrey Heartlands and is a partnership of organisations working together to create positive health outcomes for local communities. To apply, email  horleycommunitycentre@reigate-banstead.gov.uk or woodhatchcommunitycentre@reigate-banstead.gov.uk to discuss your project.

If you’ve received a reminder to respond to important electoral registration details that we sent out over the summer, make sure you follow the instructions we’ve sent so you can have your say in future elections. We’ll soon be calling or visiting households that are yet to reply. The annual canvass allows us to keep the electoral register up to date and invite people to register if they aren’t already. With Borough, Town and Parish Council elections taking place in May 2023, this is an opportunity to make sure you can take part.  

Throughout this week (24 September to 2 October) events and activities have been taking place to celebrate community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. This weekend you can still join a green trail around Horley town centre on Saturday (1 October) or at Redhill Common on Sunday there will be a Reigate Area Conservation Volunteers session and a nature walk with Wild Earlswood. There was a very successful community litterpick at Whitebushes on Saturday 24 September (see picture). 

We want our Horley Community Centre to be a place for everyone and we are looking at options for refurbishing the centre to meet this ambition. Your views will help shape the future design of the building and the programme of activities available. From next week we're asking you to complete a short survey to tell us what you think about the type of activities and food that the centre should offer and the range of spaces local people would be interested in hiring. 

Don’t forget to give your views to help us develop a new ‘design code’ that will shape new development and create a ‘green corridor’ between Redhill and Horley. The code aims to make the area work better for pedestrians and cyclists, improve access to open spaces and parks, raise the quality of design and identify opportunities for development. You can find out more and have your say at our consultation portal.

With the continuing rise in the cost of living food banks across the borough are struggling to keep up with demand. Food banks rely on donations to provide food and essential items to people referred to them by local agencies. If you’d like to donate to a food bank they update their websites regularly with items that are in demand and we have included links to the food banks operating in the borough on our website.

The new energy price cap comes into force on 1 October. Although the government's 'Energy Price Guarantee' will mean a typical UK household will pay no more than £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years, people are likely to be facing much higher energy bills than last winter. You can find out about all the government help available, such as Cost of Living and Winter Fuel payments, and check whether you are eligible on its Help for Households web pages.

Have your financial circumstances changed? Are you facing challenges? There is financial support and advice available in Surrey. The Community Helpline Team is here to help you find the right health and welfare support for you. If you can't find the help and support you need on the Health and Welfare hub then you can ring the Community Helpline team on 0300 200 1008.

People are urged to be on their guard against energy rebate scammers. There have been reports of scam emails and text messages claiming to be about energy rebates from Ofgem, the independent energy regulator for Great Britain. The messages claim that the recipient is due a rebate payment as part of a government scheme and provides links to follow, which lead to malicious websites designed to steal personal and financial information. Action Fraud, the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, has advice about spotting the reporting scams like these.