Letter: GBC Budget – Imitation Is the Best Form of Flattery

Published on: 18 Feb, 2018
Updated on: 18 Feb, 2018

From George Dokimakis

Guildford Borough Council’s decision to borrow and invest £81 million in a revenue-generating asset is straight out of Labour’s manifesto and a long-standing Labour policy. This is why Labour is proposing the same investment across the UK and why the Conservative-led GBC is following Labour’s policy locally. It is simply the right thing to do.

It is basic economic theory that lower interest rates drive investment: firms borrow money to invest because returns on investment are higher than the interest rate on the money borrowed.

But the council’s decision to invest this money in purpose-built student accommodation is far from ideal.

The University of Surrey has had a positive economic impact in our borough but also a negative impact on housing, especially in Park Barn and Westborough where family homes have been converted to student lets. This drives rents up, pushing families out of the rental market and eroding local communities due to the transient nature of the student population.

Whilst building student housing would remove the need for students to be housed in privately rented homes, there are currently thousands on the waiting list for social housing in the borough. The £81 million would have been better spent by the council building social housing to address this core issue, leaving the university to find other ways to fund their student accommodation programme.

There is also the obvious potential conflict of interest between Cllr Spooner being both the council leader promoting this investment decision and the lead member for planning. His sympathy for the university was demonstrated in the Dongying partnership decision, which was not subject to full consultation. As a result, I believe, he should not take part in any decisions that affect the university.

Guildford Borough Council made the right decision to borrow to invest. It now needs to make the right investment decision.

Responses to Letter: GBC Budget – Imitation Is the Best Form of Flattery

Bernard Parke Reply

February 19, 2018 at 11:40 am

This sum of money would indeed have been better invested in providing accommodation for key workers, workers who are so important to our local economy.

Surely funding student housing should be addressed by the university and not by the hard-pressed council tax payer.

I do not think this project will release the numerous houses back into the open market; the market is now too entrenched.