Letter: Building Heights Policy – Evasion and Confusion Must End

Published on: 21 Sep, 2024
Updated on: 21 Sep, 2024

From Richard Mills

Conservative borough councillor for Castle ward

In response to: Dragon Interview – Chair of the Guildford Society on Building Heights

Guildford residents, who have consistently expressed support for a building height policy, will have been encouraged by your recent interview with the chairman of the Guildford Society where he indicated that the borough council had (some six months or more ago now) implied belated acceptance of the need for a policy to limit building height and that they would consider appointing consultants to prepare one.

Unfortunately, my own experience over those six months suggests rather that the current Liberal Democrat administration remains firmly against any such policy – or is in state of complete confusion on the matter.

Last December in full council I sought an assurance that the administration would pursue a policy to limit building height. As the response was evasive I later sought to table a motion on behalf of Conservative colleagues to adopt a heights policy designed to maintain the historical sky line of the town while allowing higher-rise development in limited circumstances, and to put the council rather than developers in the driving seat in negotiations on height.

Strangely, the proposed motion was ruled ultra vires and debate refused, notwithstanding that:

the proposal did not seek to change the law (which clearly could have been ultra vires) but simply made clear how the existing provisions of the Local Plan were to be understood and would be applied by the council;
that it sought to achieve this outcome by preparation of an SPD
(Supplementary Planning Document), a procedure that had been used
successfully by other Councils to change height policy; and
that the council itself had previously used the same procedure to
clarify other aspects of building height policy.

Regrettably, when I then on two occasions sought a meeting to clarify the reasons for the refusal to allow the motion to be debated I received no reply.

In the light of this experience and what the Guildford Society has been led to believe it is essential that the Liberal Democrat leadership follow through and clearly demonstrate support for a heights policy that can protect the town’s character.

The evasion, confusion and lack of transparency evident in the handling of this matter should not be allowed to continue. One need only look at the changing skyline of the town to know that over the last six years the council has lost control of the planning of the town, with an outcome that is far from what the majority of residents want.