Letter: Article Highlights Problem of Affordable Housing Provision

Published on: 28 Jul, 2024
Updated on: 28 Jul, 2024

From Fiona White

lead councillor for Planning and Lib Dem borough councillor for Ash Wharf

In response to: Westborough HMO Plans ‘Losing the Heart of the Street’ Says Resident

This article highlights a problem which has faced Guildford for many years and that is the issue of affordable housing of all types.

Guildford is a wonderful place to live, especially for those who can afford to buy their own homes. Unfortunately, with the average price of semi-detached properties in the region of £530,000 (according to Rightmove), home ownership is beyond the reach of many people. The fact is that we need many more properties (houses, flats, etc) at prices that people on ordinary incomes can afford to either buy or rent.

There is an added problem is that much of GBC’s council housing stock was sold under the right to buy which gave many people a chance to get onto the housing ladder.

Unfortunately, the government that introduced right to buy wouldn’t allow councils to use the sale proceeds to replace the properties which were sold reducing the number of properties available at rents people could afford. Also unfortunately, the Labour government from 1997 to 2010 continued with the same policies which meant that council housing stock was further eroded.

The update of the Guildford Local Plan will involve gathering evidence of housing need throughout the borough for everyone including students, single working people and families. We will let everyone know when we are gathering that evidence and I would urge everyone to contribute. At the end of the day, it will be your Local Plan and it is important that we have as much information as possible to allow us to get it right.

I am disappointed that Cllr Howard Smith [Lab, Westborough] has attempted to use the council’s Planning Committee to deal with this issue. Although Cllr Smith did not take part in the debates or vote on the applications, as a member of that Committee he knows that decisions can only be made based on planning policy.

I have read the officer reports alongside the National Planning Policy Framework set by central government and our existing Local Plan and I can’t find any planning policies which would have supported refusal of the applications.

As a Planning Committee member, Cllr Smith was present at the beginning of the meeting and would have heard the chair say that Councillors appointed to the Planning Committee sit as representatives of the whole Guildford Community and that all councillors must act fairly, openly and apolitically.

The new Labour government has made a lot of promises around the issue of planning and development. I look forward to seeing the details once they are published and using whatever they produce to address the many issues that face our borough, including housing that is suitable for everyone’s needs.

Share This Post