Letter: Anne Milton Is An Excellent, Hard Working, Community Focused MP

Published on: 12 Nov, 2017
Updated on: 12 Nov, 2017

Anne Milton MP

From Paul Spooner

council leader at Guildford Borough Council

In response to comments made on article: Anne Milton Misses Out on Promotion to the Cabinet

Anne Milton is an excellent, hardworking and community focused MP who gets involved at every level within Guildford for the benefit of the whole community.

The difference between the Mole Valley MP [Sir Paul Beresford] and our Guildford MP is that Anne understands the difficult balance in delivering necessary housing and infrastructure to our borough whilst Sir Paul simply makes popular public sound bytes whilst privately supporting development, such as Effingham, where I resisted several attempts by Sir Paul to push through development in the green belt.

I prefer the honest approach and Anne Milton’s is exactly that.

Sir Paul Beresford has responded:

Paul Spooner has clearly chosen not to accept my campaign, over very many years, against development in the green belt, especially those in the GBC draft Local Plan. My opposition goes back to when I was a government planning minister where I rejected every green belt application in Surrey, except the Mercedes development which I sanctioned.

Recognition of the need of balance, as Paul Spooner says, is reflected in my suggestion that GBC should see that the draft plan bulldozes over the lack infrastructure in the GBC wards of Mole Valley, including the problematic A3/M25 Junction 10.

There are plenty of opportunities for development in areas close to the Guildford town centre by using iconic and tall buildings. However key councillors, including Paul Spooner, need to recognise this and stop trying to destroy our precious green belt. The same applies to Mole Valley District Council which, rather than developing green belt, is looking to the redevelopment of Leatherhead which will also require iconic and higher developments.

The Effingham application for the Howard School redevelopment I supported but not the huge number of houses sought. In Effingham, many were opposed to the application, but Paul Spooner should recognise very many in Bookham, and the Horsley’s as well as a considerable number of Effingham residents supported the redevelopment of the school.

As an MP, I have no say on individual applications and therefore cannot push through any individual application, such as the Howard application, as he states. As the saying goes: “There are none so blind as those that will not see!”

Responses to Letter: Anne Milton Is An Excellent, Hard Working, Community Focused MP

Peta Malthouse Reply

November 12, 2017 at 8:40 pm

It’s a shame the all the Tories failed to mention this at the last election.I distinctly recall the headline in the Surrey Ad: “Tories pledge to protect green belt”. The Local Plan was already in draft then. Didn’t try very hard after they got our votes, did they?
Dave Middleton Reply

November 13, 2017 at 10:57 am

For once I agree with Cllr Spooner in that Ann Milton is a good MP. She is the only local politician who has, in the 27 years that I have lived in Guildford, actually knocked on my front door, properly introduced herself and asked me, person to person, for my support and what I saw as important for the town.

As for Mole Valley’s Sir Paul Beresford harping on about building “iconic tall buildings” in Guildford Town, he should go away and focus on his own area and stop poking his nose in where he shouldn’t. Incidentally, I note there are no “iconic tall buildings” in the major towns on his patch in Dorking or Leatherhead.
A Atkinson Reply

November 15, 2017 at 10:38 am

As the Local Plan is quoted as providing 12,426 houses and the number of houses in the period, on the proposed sites, has been manipulated technically pushing out the number of builds beyond the plan period, in effect, the planned number of houses on the proposed sites is greater than those declared by GBC.

The council talks of at least 12,426 homes but this is the minimum, not the maximum planned number of houses. There are also some sites whose description proposes “at least” an amount of development.

What readers can be sure of is that they will not get what they expect, want, or voted for in terms of development of Guildford.
Jules Cranwell Reply

November 15, 2017 at 10:54 am

This is extraordniary, a council leader implying dishonesty on the part of an elected MP.
David Roberts Reply

November 16, 2017 at 11:59 am

A Tory council leader calling a local Tory MP dishonest. We are all tired of these blue-on-blue attacks, which bring politics into disrepute.
David Pillinger Reply

November 18, 2017 at 11:43 am

I didn’t get the impression Paul Spooner was implying Paul Beresford was dishonest. I read that Anne Milton was honest in her views, which, having met her on a number of occasions, I tend to agree with.