GBC Asks Residents for Views on Its Draft Building Height Guidance

Published on: 1 Jul, 2025
Updated on: 1 Jul, 2025

What is the right height for new buildings in Guildford? Photo Guildford Society

By Martin Giles

What is your view on building heights in Guildford? Should there be limits, perhaps depending on the location? If so, what should those limits be?

Guildford Borough Council is asking residents, community groups and developers for their feedback on its draft Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The document is intended to help guide developers and support the assessment of development proposals and planning applications for tall buildings in Guildford town centre. The consultation is now open and respondents can have your say until 12 noon on Friday, August 8.

When finalised, GBC says the SPD will:

• give guidance on what is considered to be a tall building in Guildford town centre
• provide design guidelines to help manage the impact of tall buildings, and promote opportunities for consistent, high quality design
• clarify what the council will expect to see submitted as part of a planning application for a tall building, including evidence of its potential impact.

Cllr Fiona White

Cllr Fiona White [Lib Dem, Ash Wharf], lead councillor for Planning, said: “Guildford town centre continues to provide an opportunity for brownfield redevelopment and regeneration. Given its special character, it is vital that we achieve high quality urban design, and ensure we retain a sense of place through good architecture, townscape and public space.

“Poorly designed tall buildings can harm the character of an area, its heritage, wider views and local amenities. However, with appropriate guidance on their suitability and design, taller buildings could be a positive addition to the town, providing an opportunity for regeneration and the efficient use of land.

“Supplementary Planning Documents play a vital role in making sure that our policies are applied properly and lead to good development across the town centre. The Tall Buildings SPD cannot set a blanket height limit for proposed buildings, but it will support the careful assessment of sites and tall building proposals from an early stage.

“I encourage anyone with an interest in the future shape of Guildford town centre to take part in our consultation and have their say.”

Cllr Richard Mills

Cllr Richard Mills, a member of the Conservative Group at GBC,  said: “Having persistently pressed the Liberal Democrats to introduce a heights policy that could better protect the town centre from the remorseless spread of tall tower blocks, out of keeping with its character, we warmly welcomed their agreement last September to prepare supplementary planning guidance for this purpose.

“Sadly, this draft falls short. It carefully elaborates existing guidance on the design of tall buildings but will do little to strengthen the council’s capacity to resist unwelcome tall building applications within or impacting on the town centre.

“Guidance is now needed that makes clear developers will be expected to respect the informal 5-storey limit that, with rare exceptions, has prevailed until recent years. That need not rule out higher buildings, but it should make clear they are only likely to be supported where there is exceptional justification and where the town’s distinctive character is respected.”

A spokesperson for Guildford Labour said: “While it’s important to consult residents, at some point the administration will have to make a decision and further delay is no longer an option.

“Extra height in certain parts of the town – for example, Walnut Tree Close, for student accommodation – is acceptable to most. But we see the danger in the development at the station and the higher-up we go in Guildford, for example Pewley Down, the more considered the council need to be.

“Developers need clarity, and as usual with this executive, making a decision on height has been kicked into the long grass for too long.”

Alistair Smith, chair of the Guildford Society.

Alistair Smith, chair of the Guildford Society, commented: “We have been urging the council to create and adopt a heights SPD for several years.  This included reviewing other Heights SPDs to see how they were structured, our report, which we shared with GBC, can be seen at https://www.guildfordsociety.org.uk/TallBldgSPDDraft.html

“We are delighted that a draft Supplementary Planning document has been published for consultation.   As a draft adopted by the GBC Executive it carries some weight when considering planning applications.  We will make comments on the draft as part of the consultation process.

“An immediate concern is that the proposed SPD needs to consider an area that is larger than just the Town Centre.  A danger will be that tall buildings are developed on the town boundary.  A positive approach to zoning heights in the town and across the borough needs to be considered.”

John Rigg

John Rigg, chair of the Guildford Vision Group, also welcomed the new draft planning document and endorsed it.

He said: “It’s one of the most coherent and clearly articulated planning documents produced by the council in recent years.

“We credit the marked improvement in planning leadership to the work of senior officers, particularly the new assistant director of Planning Development.”

GVG thinks the document could be strengthened further by:

• Assessing Height-Related Harm
  The Local Plan’s Sustainability Appraisal should include a comparative analysis of harm caused by taller buildings in the town centre versus elsewhere across the borough.
• Exploring Opportunities Beyond the Town Centre
  GVG suggests a zonal height policy for outlying ‘suburban village’ centres such as Bellfields, Park Barn, and Westborough. These areas could accommodate more homes while supporting sustainable transport links and improving local deprivation scores.
• Protecting AONB Views
  Clearer guidance would safeguard views to and from the AONB but does not prevent suitable development completely.
• Encouraging Roofscape Variety
  The SPD’s flexible approach to building height will promote creative roof design and avoid uniform skylines.
• Clarifying Massing Guidance
  The SPD’s safeguards against overbearing building bulk are good. The graphic should not however suggest tall buildings ramp up across a site to maximum height at the boundary.

The consultation will run for six weeks to give local people time to consider the detailed SPD and submit their feedback. GBC will also invite stakeholders registered on our planning policy database to take part.

The draft Tall Buildings SPD can be read online here. Printed copies are available to view at our Millmead office and at libraries across the borough.

Comments can be made:

• online 
• by email: PlanningPolicy@guildford.gov.uk or
• by post: Planning Policy, Guildford Borough Council, Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford GU2 4BB.

The council will review all consultation responses and the issues raised. An updated SPD will then be considered for adoption by the Council’s Executive later this year.

Other local parties and organisations were invited to comment.

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