Comment: Will It Be ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ at Burchatt’s Farm?

Published on: 20 Feb, 2019
Updated on: 21 Feb, 2019

By Gavin Morgan

Guildford Borough Council (GBC) has turned down a golden public relations opportunity and the chance to give this town something truly special. Well that’s what it looks like and we must get to bottom of why.

The council wanted to find a way of getting some regular income on Burchatt’s Farm, the Grade II listed barn and farmhouse at the end of Stoke Park. Guildford Shakespeare Society came forward offered to lease the building for the asking price. It seemed like a match made in heaven:

• The Guildford Shakespeare (GSC) would gain a permanent home
• GBC would receive a regular income on a heritage site
• The people of Guildford would gain a wonderful arts venue
• Burchatt’s Farm would remain accessible to the public
• GBC would receive acres of good publicity and every visitor to a GSC production would say “sometimes the council gets it spot on”

But no!

GBC thinks it would be better to lease the site as a chiropractic centre. The plan is to close Burchatt’s Farm to the public and convert the interior of the barn, making it impossible to even appreciate its character.

Burchatt’s Barn – Photo Mandy Millyard

Planning permission has been applied for and unless it gets turned down this looks like the end of the road for a marvellous new arts hub that would have cost this town nothing. Many people are objecting on the council’s website on the grounds that this change is an inappropriate use of a heritage building intended to the benefit of the people of Guildford in perpetuity.

The interior – celebrating the receiving of grants from Guildford Borough Council at Burchatt’s Barn in 2013

So how did it come to this?

If this is to be a Shakespearian tragedy let’s at least read the script and see how it happened.

“Common Sense Denied”

– a new play by Bill Shakespeare (no relation)

Prologue The enormous piece of land known as Stoke Park was purchased by a visionary but even more cash strapped Guildford Borough Council back in the 1920s. The aim was to keep some open space in the town centre at a time when suburbs were spreading out in all directions. Burchatt’s Farm was on the land and came with it. In 1990 the council restored the barn and fitted it out the farmhouse for functions.

It was opened by the Mayor and has been an enjoyable venue for weddings, parties, corporate events etc.

Act 1 Scene 1

Cllr Richard Billington

In 2015, the current council decided that hiring out the building is hard work and chose to lease the building. Some of us had misgivings about the building possibly ceasing to be a public amenity along with the rest of Stoke Park. However, Cllr Richard Billington, lead councillor for rural economy, reassured everyone in March 2017 “The future of Burchatt’s farm must continue to enhance Stoke Park, an important and highly valued recreation facility and part of Guildford’s landscape, for the benefit of local residents and visitors to the borough.”

Chartered surveyors Owen Shipp were hired to obtain expressions of interest for leasing the building for non-residential use. An asking price of £36,000 p a was published on their website.

Scene 2

Enter the Guildford Shakespeare Company GSC) – stage right. In October 2018 the Guildford Shakespeare put forward an impressive proposal for the use of Burchatt’s Farm that seemed to fulfil Cllr Billington’s statement to the letter. They even offered the full asking price.

GSC is a professional theatre company with a big community heart that puts serving Guildford at the top of its list of aims. Since its foundation in 2006, it has staged 39 productions seen by over 100,000 people – that’s an average of 2,500 people per production. Their 2015 production of King Lear featuring Brian Blessed was national news and, like all their productions, benefited local businesses and car parks by bringing in people from outside the town.

In fact, 77% of their audiences come into the town specifically for the plays thus raising the profile of the town. The plays have been staged at various venues and helped raised their profile. Sites have included Guildford Castle Keep, Guildford Museum, Holy Trinity Church, St Mary’s Church and Racks Close.

GSC’s Robin Hood.

While Shakespeare is their bread and butter they have reached out to new audiences with Alice in Wonderland and Robin Hood. The company also has an active education programme reaching over 8,000 students annually, providing nine regular clubs, running free workshops and working with schools.

Their proposal was to use Burchatt’s Farm as a performance and rehearsal space, develop educational programmes and run an office and prop store. On top of this, they proposed making the venue available for civic and other events thus keeping it accessible to the public.

In the garden, they wanted to erect a semi-permanent spiegeltent for education and performances. This been a regular feature of the Guildford theatre scene as each year the GSC erects a tent a couple of hundred yards away from the barn.

Enter Guildford Borough Council stage left

It is hard to find commercial uses for heritage sites because, by their nature, they are usually unsuitable, unless converted in a way that prevents them being enjoyed as a heritage site. This seemed a perfect opportunity to get the best of both. But instead, the council seems to have opted for an offer from a chiropractic practice which offered a few thousand pounds over the asking price.

No disrespect to the excellent work the chiropractors have done over the last 65 years, but it will not be able to use this site to offer the community benefits in the way GSC could. It will not be able to keep the heritage site accessible and the necessary partitioning of the barn will prevent its character from being appreciated.

Act II

So, what will happen? Will it be a Love’s Labour’s Lost for the GSC? Or is this just a big misunderstanding, a Comedy of Errors?

Will the people of Guildford and supporters of the GSC make their feelings known? Will Guildford Borough Council rethink or is the process bound by strict rules that prevent it doing what is best for the town?

I wish both organisations every success. However, one proposal would enhance the site through an outward-looking community approach and it is hard to think of another venue that would be as good. The other, by the nature of its business, will need to remove Burchatt’s Farm from the community even though there are probably many sites around the town that could serve it just as well.

Let’s just hope that, All’s Well That Ends Well!

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