Letter: Expecting Developers to Provide Infrastructure Was Naive

Published on: 4 Apr, 2026
Updated on: 4 Apr, 2026

From David Roberts

In response to: When It Comes to Planning Decisions – We Reap What We Sow

Do I smell an election coming up?

Expecting one of Britain’s housebuilders to provide social infrastructure on the cheap was a glaringly obvious non-runner from the start, as many pointed out. But making party-political points out of this debacle doesn’t help.

Ms Richardson’s [Conservative] party is culpable of unleashing over-development in Guildford’s villages in the first place, by expelling most of them from the green belt and inflating the housing need numbers. The way the Tories forced through their 2019 Local Plan was the shabbiest act in Guildford politics this century.

Cllr Potter’s [Liberal Democrat] party is just as culpable for having no known policy on development issues, and therefore nothing but vapid slogans on which we can vote on 7 May. Gone are the days of high-calibre Lib Dem councillors such as Effingham’s Liz Hogger.

In office, the party has simply caved in to the professional development industry represented by GBC’s own, partisan planning officers. The new 2,400-house urban ghetto at Wisley will be their legacy.

For its part, R4GV when in office comprehensively ignored the villages in favour of Mr Rigg’s pet obsession with the town centre. I hope that, if elected, the excellent Catherine Young and Dennis Booth will put that right.

Responses to Letter: Expecting Developers to Provide Infrastructure Was Naive

Jim Allen Reply

April 5, 2026 at 12:10 am

While local discussions focus on housing numbers and costs, it is noteworthy that the planned development of 12,000 houses within a 10-mile radius of Burpham has not been critically examined, particularly concerning the documented lack of water supply as per Environment Agency government known facts.

The current discourse on housing costs and demand appears to overlook the fundamental issue of water availability.

The proposed reservoir at Abingdon, intended to be filled from the River Severn, is not slated for completion until 2035, and there are no current plans for a pipeline to serve the Guildford area from Teddington.

Therefore, concerns regarding housing occupancy should be refocused. These properties should be inhabited until 2035, due to the severe water stress within the Wey Valley catchment, which precludes the drilling of additional boreholes.
David Roberts Reply

April 12, 2026 at 1:36 pm

Mr Allen is right. But the cumulative impact of new housebuilding on local water or any other infrastructure is never factored into decisions when individual planning applications come up for discussion. This is a fundamental flaw in the planning process.

There are 30 million houses in the UK for a population of less than 70 million. They may not all be where people want to live or where developers can make the most money, but let’s be clear: there is no national housing shortage.