Letter: I Fear That Plan For Stoke Park Is One To Make Money

Published on: 22 Mar, 2015
Updated on: 22 Mar, 2015

From Kelly-Marie Blundell
Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Guildford

I cannot be the only person who is baffled by the idea of ‘modernising’, ‘revamping’ or bringing Stoke Park ‘into the 21st century’.

Let’s be clear, a park is a park. It has grass. It has trees. It has walkways and ornamental gardens and a wonderful rich history as a beautiful location in Guildford that we all uphold.

But this beautiful pastoral scene that is iconic in our town is not going to be improved by a visitor centre. I am also dubious, when we have seen year on year a rise of council tax in a time of austerity, as to the cost of such proposals.

The very idea of ‘modernising’ a park is strange in itself. It appears to me that there is a drive to make as much money out of Guildford public spaces as possible, and I have concerns we will turn Stoke Park, a harmonious green space, into a money-making machine with people being shipped in and out, and lose the essence of this peaceful place in the process.

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