Dragon Interview: Chair of the Guildford Society on Building Heights

Published on: 17 Sep, 2024
Updated on: 18 Sep, 2024

Building heights in Guildford, the Plaza site under construction Photo Guildford Society

No rail traveller at Guildford could escape noticing the high-rise buildings being constructed by the station, more are being constructed at the bottom of the Portsmouth Road on the Plaza site, the Debenhams building is to be replaced by one considerably higher and eleven-storey buildings will be part of the North Street development.

Before the latest construction activity had started, a straw pool conducted in 2023 by The Guildford Dragon showed around 80 per cent of those questioned thought Guildford should have a building heights policy to restrict the height of new buildings in the town.

Then, at The Dragon hustings, conducted during the campaign for the borough council elections, all party representatives agreed that a zoned building heights policy should be introduced, but nearly 18 months later no such policy exists although there are some signs of progress.

In July, the Guildford Society which had been campaigning for Guildford to adopt a Supplementary Planning Document to strenghten control on heights in the Town Centre in particular, reported on its website: “We are delighted that progress is finally being made…”