A racecourse town
Epsom Downs Racecourse hosts the Derby each year, a race first run in 1780, and the Downs above the course are open to the public for walking well beyond race days. The racecourse has shaped a good deal of the town's identity and its road layout on the eastern side.
Housing shaped by London's growth
Epsom's older streets sit close to the town centre, while later development spread outward as London's suburbs pushed further into Surrey through the twentieth century, so garage types here range from older brick outbuildings to more recent integral single garages.
Its own borough
Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, rather than Mole Valley, is the authority to contact about planning or building control here, a separate council from the one covering Dorking and its immediate villages.
Frequently asked questions
Is Epsom covered by the same council as Dorking?+
No. Epsom and Ewell Borough Council is a separate authority from Mole Valley District Council, which covers Dorking.
What's Epsom best known for?+
Epsom Downs Racecourse and the Derby, one of England's best known flat races, held on the Downs on the edge of the town.
Nearby areas
Services
Useful local links
- Reigate and Banstead Borough Council – Planning — The planning authority covering Reigate and Redhill, a separate borough from Mole Valley.
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council – Planning permission — The planning authority covering Epsom, a separate borough from Mole Valley.
- Elmbridge Borough Council – Planning permission and applications — The planning authority covering Cobham, a separate borough from Mole Valley.
- GOV.UK – Planning permission: when you need it — Government guidance on when planning permission is required in England and Wales.
- GOV.UK – Party Wall etc. Act 1996 guidance — Government guidance on notifying neighbours and resolving disputes over shared or boundary walls, relevant to attached garage conversions.
- Planning Portal – Garage conversion — National guidance on when planning permission is needed for a garage conversion in England.
- Planning Portal – Outbuildings — National guidance on permitted development rules for garden buildings and outbuildings, including height and coverage limits.