Letter: I Will Propose Guildford Becomes Carbon Neutral and Plastic-free

Published on: 3 Jul, 2019
Updated on: 3 Jul, 2019

From George Potter

Lib Dem borough councillor for Burpham

In response to: Cars Are Not the Answer for Guildford Town Centre

It is a shame Mr Creese didn’t take the time to fully read what I wrote.

My comment (published as a letter by The Dragon) was in reply to a suggestion that free car parking in the town centre could increase footfall and be beneficial for shops. My response outlined the reasons why, although this might be beneficial to our struggling retailers, it would probably not be even remotely possible due to the perverse way in which local government is financed.

My letter was, obviously, not a full and completely detailed transportation plan for Guildford. For that, I suggest Mr Creese should refer to the Lib Dem local manifesto where we made detailed proposals on both the environment and transportation (unlike Labour, who offered warm words and little else in their manifesto).

It should go without saying that what Guildford needs is a comprehensive, joined up and affordable public transport system. And that’s something I’ve been advocating for several years.

But the reality right now is that if you’re a family on a low income then you can’t afford to come into town by bus to go shopping due to the high fares and you probably can’t afford the parking charges either.

Therefore, until the bus services are improved, the simple fact is that many on low-incomes are completely priced out of the town centre and the council has only limited powers to do anything about it given the decision of successive Labour and Conservative governments not to reverse the disastrous privatisation of municipal bus serves.

It’s a shame that Mr Creese doesn’t appear to have any appreciation that, as things stand, just expecting people to take the bus would just result in even more people being priced out of the town centre and cause more accessibility problems for people with mobility issues who would then face being dumped by buses on the outskirts of the town centre.

So, by all means, let’s go green. But the way to do that is through joined-up thinking and having a clear overall plan rather than trying to paint political opponents as anti-environment.

I also note that Cllr Colin Cross has taken the opportunity to chime in, in the comments on Mr Creese’s letter, to say firstly that “political considerations” should be put aside and secondly to claim that the Lib Dems don’t care about the environment.

I will leave aside the inconsistency of saying, in one breath, that we need to put aside partisanship, and then making political digs in the next.

But I will say it’s a shame that Cllr Cross’s environmental concerns didn’t extend to attending last night’s informal meeting of the Placemaking Executive Advisory Board committee where councillors from all political stripes, myself included, discussed the importance of coming up with a transportation plan for the town that improved public transport (through use of the recently passed Bus Services Act) as well as the quality of walking and cycling routes.

And if Cllr Cross had found the time to attend the initial meeting of the Guildford Joint Committee then he might even have heard my suggestion that we investigate more radical options like a Workplace Parking Levy to fund public transport improvements.

However, it’s sadly a fact of life that certain individuals won’t pass up any opportunity for political point-scoring so I won’t dwell on it any further.

I do hope, however, that Mr Creese and Cllr Cross will be the next full council meeting for the where I’ll be proposing motions on becoming a carbon neutral borough and becoming a plastic-free borough. Given their comments in The Dragon surely they will both be giving these motions their full support?

Responses to Letter: I Will Propose Guildford Becomes Carbon Neutral and Plastic-free

Colin Cross Reply

July 4, 2019 at 9:33 am

Further to George Potter’s lengthy diatribe against recent interpretations of his comments in his letter of June 26 on free town centre parking, he appears now to be denying he is in favour of this and we have got him all wrong. But he clearly stated it was “a sensible and logical option…….possibly beneficial to struggling retailers” but not remotely possible “due to the perversity of local government financing (re Business Tax distribution).

But then he goes on to rail against this perverse tax distribution which to many of us seemed to indicate he was in favour of town centre free parking so how are we misquoting him?

Regarding his later personal attacks on me and my comments re Lib Dem policy on a Town Centre Masterplan, (I said they did not seem to be up for radical change in this regard) he seems not to have followed the recent policy statements from his own party in this regard. But if he is now saying we will have their backing for this then that’s great news and most welcome.

His parting shots at my lack of attendance at two committees (of which I am not a member) is rather personal and I would refer him to the GBC Councillors’ Code of Conduct which requires us all to show mutual respect to our colleagues and staff. As it happens, I am currently abroad undergoing medical treatment and I have every confidence that my R4GV colleagues responsible for attending these committees will have done so.

Colin Cross is the R4GV borough councillor for Lovelace (Ripley, Wisley and Ockham).
David Roberts Reply

July 5, 2019 at 11:55 am

If he wants support for his motions, Cllr Potter will have to explain what he means by becoming a carbon neutral and plastic-free borough. Does he mean all plastics?

This sounds a bit drastic given people’s current lifestyle. Or is it one of those uncosted aspirations for many decades hence – a piece of rhetorical virtue-signalling good for a cheap headline or two but not much else?

Secondly, will the great act of renunciation apply to all of us, or only to GBC operations (which I suppose would be a start)? And will Cllr Potter promise not to cheat as the British Government does, for instance by using “offsetting” to reduce our carbon footprint by simply exporting our emissions elsewhere?
- Adam Aaronson Reply
  
  July 5, 2019 at 9:34 pm
  
  I wonder whether Mr Potter means a reduction of single use plastic bottles and containers. If he does, why not say so? If not, I look forward to learning how he is going to introduce an overall plastic-free programme and indeed how this will be funded. Will there be border controls?
Brian Creese Reply

July 5, 2019 at 10:30 pm

When George says I did not read his letter properly, he seems to mean I didn’t read his mind very well. He wrote, “It should go without saying… [what] Guildford needs is a comprehensive, joined up and affordable public transport system.” No, he did not say that originally and I failed to gain that from his passionate argument in favour of free parking for cars.

Furthermore, Cllr Potter notes that I don’t “appear to have any appreciation that… just expecting people to take the bus would just result in even more people being priced out of the town centre and cause more accessibility problems for people with mobility issues…” He is entirely correct so I have no idea what he is complaining about.

Guildford Labour Party has long advocated more frequent, better-subsidised bus services linking the estates, such as Park Barn and Bellfields – but also the villages like Send and Wonersh – to the centre of Guildford. We did some extensive canvassing before Christmas with bus users who were clear that they wanted a new and better bus station in the same location as it is now, close to the shops.

These were the issues we talked bout on the doorstep during the elections and I don’t recall anyone telling me how this would price people out of the town centre. Making it cheaper to bring one’s car into the town centre simply subsidises the better off who all have cars (and can afford to run them) not the poor, many of whom don’t have cars or who are very aware of the cost of running them.

The Labour Party view is that cheaper, more frequent, more reliable buses will help those with the least money, bring more people into town and cause far less pollution.

Brian Creese is a spokesperson for Guildford Labour Party