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Letter: The Borough Council Is Now Even More Ambitious to Provide Affordable Housing
Published on: 19 Mar, 2019
Updated on: 19 Mar, 2019
From Keith Witham
Conservative candidate for Worplesdon in the forthcoming borough council election and county councillor for Worplesdon
When Cllr Tony Rooth (Ind, Pilgrims) was the lead councillor at Guildford Borough Council, responsible for housing in Guildford, he said in Guildford Dragon NEWS opinion piece (July 2016): The Council Is Working Hard To Provide Social and Affordable Housing in Guildford, “…Guildford’s council has led the way in looking at our housing problem from the direction of providing affordable housing”.
So what has changed since 2016 when he had actual responsibility? It seems that pretty much everything said in that article then still applies today, but, if anything, Guildford Borough Council is now being more ambitious. The number of affordable homes built by GBC to date (since the Localism Act) is now 92 and the council has a target for a further 425 by 2025.
Or is it that what’s changed is that Cllr Rooth was deselected as a candidate by the local Conservative party because they no longer wanted him as a candidate [Tony Rooth successfully appealed but withdrew his subsequent re-application]. After that, he then became “Independent“ with another councillor [Bob McShee] in the same position.
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Responses to Letter: The Borough Council Is Now Even More Ambitious to Provide Affordable Housing
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Stephen Mansbridge
March 19, 2019 at 6:46 pm
I think this is writing for writing’s sake. When I was leader, the Conservative group endorsed a policy of building the first social housing in Surrey for 35 years.
Sarah Creedy was the lead for housing and did an outstanding job in laying the foundations for what you now see. Cllr Rooth was her able replacement and did much to enhance the policy and delivery.
As with many things in Guildford, the blue touch paper was lit many years before a project comes to fruition. Guildford Park Road is a fine example of a project that should have already been delivered.
Stephen Mansbridge is the former Conservative leader of Guildford Borough Council.
Tony Rooth
March 22, 2019 at 12:14 pm
Sarah Creedy was an excellent lead councillor for housing and I thank Stephen Mansbridge for calling me her “able replacement”. Cllr Philip Brooker is an able successor to me, after I was removed from the Executive in May 2017. Philip shares our passion and commitment to providing social and affordable housing to those in need. He progresses the work and philosophy that Sarah and I started and continued which can be read in, “The council is working hard to provide Social and Affordable Housing in Guildford” (July 2016).