Dragon Interview: Lead Planning Councillor on New Housing Target Proposal

Published on: 4 Oct, 2024
Updated on: 4 Oct, 2024

Cllr Fiona White

A 100 per cent increase in the housing target might not have come as a complete shock, given that the Labour Party had made its intentions pretty clear during their election campaign, but it does present a huge challenge to Guildford Borough Council, which has been exceeding its annual housing target under the existing 2019 Local Plan by nearly 50 per cent.

Not only will suitable sites have to be found in a borough that is 85 per cent green belt, new infrastructure capacity will also need to be increased if the new housing is to be sustainable and services for new residents provided.

In an interview with Dragon editor Martin Giles, Fiona White, the councillor with responsibility of the Planning portfolio at GBC, gives her view on the challenge, the causes of the housing crisis and her hopes that the government might reconsider the target, given the constraints that exist. But she warns that yet more green belt might need to be sacrificed and more large strategic sites similar in size to Wisley Airfield, Gosden Hill and Blackwell Farm that have proved to be so controversial cannot be ruled out.

Please listen to the interview here…