Letter: Councillor Was Not Acting in Self-interest

Published on: 21 Dec, 2018
Updated on: 21 Dec, 2018

From W Brown (Mrs)

In response to: Labour Says Tory Showed ‘Scant Regard’ for Others When He Asked for His Own Road to be Repaired

I live in Kingswood Close. The road surface was in a terrible state here and much worse than most other places. Stating it was “not good” is an understatement. The disabled resident has been seen out and about on a walking frame since the road was resurfaced but setting that aside, the road was badly in need of repairs for several years.

It astounds me that people make negative comments about Cllr Elwood who has acted after many residents, including me, asked him to see if he could apply to have it resurfaced.

It is being made to look as if our councillor was acting in self-interest by the Labour councillor who lives in Burpham and I would assure anyone reading this article that Kingswood Close, like any other road in Guildford, was very badly in need of repair.

Everyone is happy to just jump on the bandwagon making negative comments and making assumptions without knowing the facts behind it.

Responses to Letter: Councillor Was Not Acting in Self-interest

Jeff Hills Reply

December 21, 2018 at 12:25 pm

When you leave Kingswood Close you must put on rose tinted glasses, the surrounding roads are in terrible state. I have friends who live in Kingswood who although they are happy with the repairs admit that the surrounding roads are even worse and affect more people.
Jim Allen Reply

December 21, 2018 at 3:07 pm

Just point out there is no Labour councillor in Burpham and neither Conservative borough councillor for Burpham made any such comment. Further Cllr Ellwood is our county councillor as well as a borough councillor.

Anyway, claiming a repair of a road surface is necessary to allow a disabled person using a walker to get out ignores the issue that they should be on the footpath, not the road. So it still fails to provide justification for road resurfacing when county council officials had deemed it did not meet the necessary criteria for repair. It was ill-advised decision to take such action when so many other through roads are suffering so badly.
John Edwards Reply

December 22, 2018 at 9:17 pm

At about the time Kingswood Close was being resurfaced Cllr Ellwood was telling me that Bushyhill Drive, which passes my house did not meet the necessary criteria for intervention. I understand Cllr Ellwood was also told this about Kingswood Close, the road in which the councillor lives, but it got resurfaced anyway.

My house vibrates as the many buses pass over the cracked unstable concrete slabs outside my house. Kingswood Close, a cul-de-sac, carries light traffic and no buses.
John Edwards Reply

December 27, 2018 at 10:26 am

I would like to add to my earlier letter, just like Cllr Ellwood’s neighbour both myself and my wife have restricted mobility and could never walk on the footpath outside our house let alone the road.

Vehicles including buses mount the footpath, this has pushed the kerb down to road level and made the surface uneven and the path slopes towards the road.