Letter: If Only Councillors Had Listened to What the People Said

Published on: 20 May, 2021
Updated on: 20 May, 2021

From: Peter Shaw

In response to: Borough Council Starts Crucial Review of Guildford’s Local Plan

I’m glad the decision on reviewing the Local Plan is finally getting the attention it deserves. The excellent work David Reeves and friends did (built on a foundation from studies by the Guildford Society), to highlight this issue of erroneous student population inflation in the 10-year demographic forecast, is well overdue.

The previous Conservative council refused to listen to the people on this. Finally, after numerous public representations at the borough council, the formation of GGG (spurned by deaf ears on the issue) and fresh perspectives with the RG4V councillors, things feel as if they might change.

Democracy does work, but I so wish a lot of expense could have been saved if councillors had actually listened to what the public say during their restricted three minutes during council meetings, rather than playing candy crush (as one Conservative councillor was seen doing) and this could have been resolved more than six years ago.

Responses to Letter: If Only Councillors Had Listened to What the People Said

Lisa Wright Reply

May 20, 2021 at 1:54 pm

In addition to Peter Shaw’s comment, I would like to add that it’s also the council officers, the ones who take a paid salary from the residents, that also should listen to the public.

It was just as much the planning officers pushing through the ridiculously flawed Local Plan as the Conservative councillors.

Let’s hope things change.
Jules Cranwell Reply

May 21, 2021 at 6:39 am

Hear, hear. We marched on Millmead in our hundreds to tell them “Hands off the green belt!”, supported by a huge petition.

We wrote tens of thousands of objections to the sham consultations. It is now clear they were only listening to developers.

It’s about time we had an apology.