Campaigners Battle to Save Guildford Shopmobility Service

Published on: 10 Jun, 2026
Updated on: 10 Jun, 2026

Campaigning to save Guildford Shopmobility: Ruth House and Shirlee Posner at Guildford Borough Council’s offices in Millmead

By Hugh Coakley

Campaigners battling to save the Guildford Shopmobility scheme say they are optimistic the service can continue after Age UK Surrey decided to close it down, with the final day being Friday, June 12.

But there is no guarantee it will reopen as Guildford Borough Council can only pledge to continue to provide grants up to March 2027 when the West Surrey Council is in full operation.

ShopMobility provides a selection of manual and powered wheelchairs and scooters to anyone of any age group who experiences difficulty walking around Guildford town centre

The service has been running for 30 years. Disability campaigner Shirlee Posner said that when she heard it was to close, it was “like a punch in the face”.

She and fellow campaigner Ruth House have met with the leader of Guildford Borough Council, Cllr Julia McShane (Lib Dem), along with the lead for the community, Cllr Carla Morson (Lib Dem) and assistant director for community Sam Hutchison, who were very supportive. The two campaigners are to meet with their MP, Zoe Franklin (Lib Dem), on Friday, June 12.

Their petition to save the service has 1,683 signatures to date.

Age UK Surrey said on their website (May 13) there were “significant financial challenges” and the service would close. In a later update they said they were optimistic, adding: “Guildford BC might be able to continue to run Shopmobility in partnership with other organisations.”

Cllr Carla Morson

Cllr Morson, said: “Age UK’s decision to close Guildford’s Shopmobility service is understandably upsetting for the people who use it, and it was not a decision they took lightly.

“Guildford Borough Council has supported the service for many years through annual grants and through hosting the service office at our Bedford Road Car Park.

“Sadly, we were informed by Age UK that even with their annual grant of £44,874 , they could no longer sustain Shopmobility due to the increasing costs affecting the service and the wider sector, and they had therefore made the difficult decision to close the Guildford Shopmobility service.

Signs at Shopmobility in Bedford Road car park.

“We are encouraged to see the community coming together to save Shopmobility in Guildford and have ringfenced £44,874 towards a new Shopmobility proposal for any charitable organisation willing to accept full responsibility for the service.”

Shirlee Posner, who has muscular dystrophy and has used the service for 10 years, said: “We know we have local support from Guildford Lions, The Samson Centre and others.

“Our main focus at the moment is to get a charity to adopt the service. Ruth and I have no intention of leaving once this has happened as we feel we need to fundraise and support the team so they have a more stable financial root going forward.”

She said there were 45 regular users of Guildford Shopmobility, some with complex medical needs, and about 95 occasional users. She said a couple of the regular users were in tears when the announcement to close was made.

Highlighting the importance of the service to those with mobility issues, Amanda Masters, from Experience Guildford, said: “Not only has Shopmobility helped me personally to gain confidence and independence to get out and about, it helps so many other people access the town centre whereas we would be excluded. Not only is it a blow for the disabled community, it is a blow to the town centre’s economy. Disabled and elderly people spend money too!”