Letter: Hats Off To Those Behind the Masterplan

Published on: 30 Aug, 2015
Updated on: 30 Aug, 2015

From Nigel Sturgess

See: Masterplan For Town Revealed – Riverside Sites To Be Transformed

Wow, I had a quick read through the masterplan report and thought how sad it is that I am probably not going to be around long enough to see the vision come to fruition. Guildford will be an incredible place if it gets this right and reconnects with its river.

Dare I say it, Guildford could be spoken about like Bath? Maybe not, but this is a great start and hats off to all those who have pushed for and worked on this masterplan vision document.

Once they have decided on which transport scenario is going to be best I think the council should invest in a large scale, but portable model, of the whole masterplan and have it proudly on display at various locations around Guildford. This will be the best way of engaging the public and getting them behind the scheme.

As for the traffic, we have seen with the Hindhead tunnel that no matter what is built the problem just gets pushed further along, people will have to reconsider their travelling habits and use alternatives.

There will no doubt be many years of consultations, legal challenges, alterations and compromises but if Guildfordians can see and understand the master vision, I believe they should back it all the way.

Responses to Letter: Hats Off To Those Behind the Masterplan

David (George) Roberts Reply

August 30, 2015 at 4:52 pm

Allies and Morrison have done a great job. The Draft Local Plan will now need seriously amending to focus on urban regeneration instead of concreting over the green belt.

I believe the plan could safely include substantially more town-centre housing so as to ensure the commercial viability of the planned increase in retail capacity. This is where most people – especially the young and those on limited incomes – want to live, work and shop, not miles away in the countryside with no infrastructure or amenities.
Jim Allen Reply

August 30, 2015 at 5:31 pm

The trouble with “visions” is that they are normally the result of drugs or religion.

My second read through does little to enthuse me. A river which is encompassed by steel pilings lined with “green spaces” – who is going to pay to buy and demolish the existing buildings? And where are the jobs on these sites going to move to?

I notice no reference to the visionary green snake pathway that was to stretch from Jacobs Well to the Royal Surrey County Hospital and allow walkers and cyclists a traffic free route, or has that been dropped like the North Street plan?

I think the planners need to “get real” for the sake of the town centre and the borough. They should start looking 30-50 years ahead and not make plans for what could be done or nice to have but rather what needs to be done and how it could be achieved.

Guildford is a gap town so the first thing is how is traffic going to get from one side to the other?

It is a transport intersection – so how are the buses going to get to the railway station? You can’t simply stop through traffic, unless you provide suitable other routes – and there is no mention of those.