Letter: The Council Must Take Proper Notice of Further Consultations

Published on: 8 Dec, 2019
Updated on: 8 Dec, 2019

From Julian Lyon

Chairman of the Residents for Guildford and Villages Party

In response to: Lib Dems Pledge Public Consultation After Local Plan Challenge Defeated

There is nothing “local” about the Local Plan. As R4GV’s Joss Bigmore says, this is a dog’s dinner, substantially cooked up at the dog’s dinner factory in DHC&LG [Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government] and delivered to Guildford by an army of drivers in Tory blue uniforms (and the occasional Lib Dem yellow one), disregarding the widespread opinions of thousands of Guildford’s people.

There was a massive number of representations to the Local Plan consultations, mostly objections, and an analysis of the changes at each “consultation” shows almost all comments (in which so many residents and resident groups heavily invested their valuable thoughts and time) were summarily dismissed.

Clearly, we have to move on. The council leader at the time, Paul Spooner, held onto his seat in the May local elections by just 36 votes, principally because too few people stood against him, and his deputy, Matt Furniss, was blown away. This is how politicians who ignore the people are treated in Guildford.

I have yet to see that the Lib Dems have learnt from this, and the proof will be not so much in the consultations, but in what they do with the outcome. In my view, the council leader, Caroline Reeves, has form for her selective hearing at consultations. Now is the time to show that we, the people, have the proper voice we deserve.

Share This Post