Letter: “Guildford Station Development” is a Misnomer

Published on: 29 Jan, 2018
Updated on: 29 Jan, 2018

From Bibhas Neogi

In response to: I Support the Station Scheme

In my view, the deceit lies in calling the scheme “Guildford Station Development”. In labelling of a food product, the name must not be misleading regarding its content. For example, a pie containing 5% or less meat cannot be called a meat pie.

Solum says there will be no negative effect on congestion because 430 plus house owners will not own a car. But how about grocery delivery vans, refuse collectors, visitors coming by cars and trying to park somewhere nearby for these 430 houses? Will that not add to the congestion?

More commuters parking their cars in MSCP at the station are obviously going to add to that and also more cyclists from these flats and from the town risking rides through the gyratory to and from the station if the councils do nothing to improve it for cyclists.

An aspect of these flats is that they are not attractive enough for those who can afford to buy them. They might buy to let and the result could be an overpopulated transient population of mostly students and young workers in non-permanent jobs. This might lead to social issues for the area. Has the inspector considered these issues? I suspect not.

Development of new houses in mass scale has other non-financial aspects that the developers are not concerned with. This should be the consideration of the councils dealing with such planning applications. A balance of mixed housing is essential for a healthier society and it maintains social cohesion needed for a pleasant environment.