Letter: Council Leader Is Beginning To Make A Difference To Town Planning

Published on: 18 May, 2013
Updated on: 19 May, 2013

From John Rigg

The next few years are crucial to the future of Guildford Town centre and the wider community. We have three major developments coming down the barrel which can either create massive damage or represent an equally sizeable opportunity for improvement.

We have no up to date local plan in place that major applicants will need to abide by (not GBC even), no research base and no masterplan in place to create any joined up thinking.

Until Cllr Mansbridge arrived we seemed to have no one in place with whom to even have an intelligent debate about the town and the absence of masterplanning. He has introduced a different approach and made an effort to listen. The jury is still out but he and Councillor Palmer are investing time and effort in trying to understand the issues and challenges ahead. He has started to turn round the supertanker.

So, setting aside his recent conviction (and ‘let him without sin cast the first stone’), perhaps we are better off with a leader who wants to make a positive difference rather than risk those that may be happy to occupy senior positions and don’t.

It is a separate point but politicians who claim authority through being elected but then focus on being tribal rather than being informed, are the major threat to our town. In criticising this councillor I suspect we should be careful about what we wish for.

John Rigg is the Chairman of the Guildford Vision Group

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