Dragon Interview: Philip Brooker, Conservative Leader at GBC

Published on: 25 Sep, 2023
Updated on: 28 Sep, 2023

Conservative group leader Philip Brooker

It has been almost five months since the borough council election which gave a narrow victory for the Lib Dems. Enough time has now passed to reflect and assess.

Dragon editor Martin Giles invited all five of the political group leaders to be interviewed. Sadly, council and Lib Dem leader Julia McShane did not respond but the the others all agreed to participate and, we think, gave some interesting responses to the questions posed.

Subjects covered include: their reflections on the May election and the impact of the Battle for Guildford video; the current financial challenges faced by the council and planning a major and controversial issue for the borough following adoption of the Local Plan in 2019 and the development proposals in the town centre.

In this first interview we hear the views of the new leader of the Conservative group Philip Brooker. The interviews with leaders of the the Residents for Guildford & Villages (Joss Bigmore), the Guildford Greenbelt Group (Patrick Oven) and Labour (James Walsh) will follow.

Please listen, the decisions taken in our borough council have a direct impact on our community and lives. We should all become more engaged, more informed and more aware.

Responses to Dragon Interview: Philip Brooker, Conservative Leader at GBC

Jim.allen1@huntallen.plus.com Reply

September 25, 2023 at 10:08 am

Just for clarification. The local Plan was found sound not perfect, by examination!

That is to say it met “minimum” requirements of statute and policy for the government in power at that time.

It does not mean it used the available legislation to reduce development to protect the Green Belt. Does not mean the god of housing numbers could be matched to water or electrical supply. It did not mean the cllr for infrastructure at GBC (MF) talked to the Cllr for Highways at SCC (MF). Discussed with each other in respect of the Sustainable movement corridors or road capacity reduction (yes that is right reduction of road capacity) for the SHMA aligned with the influx of 47500 humans or active travel schemes, as for Local jobs there are none in sight.

So the GBC Local Plan is incompatible with the Surrey Transport plan and the instigation of both by the same person (mf) displays lack of… consistent thinking

Remember both plans were controlled by the same person! Who people voted for!
James Wild Reply

September 25, 2023 at 6:03 pm

That interview won’t have done the Conservative vote any favours. I certainly can’t see Cllr Brooker being the man to drag them out of the hole they dug for themselves.
Jules Cranwell Reply

September 26, 2023 at 6:08 am

I imagine that Mr Brooker is now wishing he had followed Cllr. McShane’s example, and stayed hidden in the shadows. What an evasive and jumbled set of responses. The only certainty we have seen in West Horsley is the certainty of a 40 per cent increase in its housing stock, and the certainty of a completely broken infrastructure and ruined roads.

There is little point wanting a review of the local plan, now that the planning permissions have been granted, and construction is underway. A review will not magic away established developments.

On the plus side, we are unlikely to see a resurgence of the Tories under his leadership.