Letter: The Moral is… Keep the Local Plan Updated

Published on: 17 Oct, 2023
Updated on: 17 Oct, 2023

From: Graham Hibbert

former chair of the Guildford Residents Association

In response to: Guildford Will Get Higher – Sadly, There’s No Turning Back

Martin Giles’ comment piece is a fair analysis of how we got to this point in Guildford’s recent planning history.

I would only add that the Conservatives led the council between the early 2000s and 2019. However, they did not update the 2003 Local Plan until the final days of their leadership.

Yet, before a decade had elapsed, it was already clear that the plan was out of date leading to the Conservatives starting an update – but they moved too slowly.

Had the plan been revised more promptly we could have been spared Solum and the current high-rise developments. The moral – the council should not wait 10 years to start to update the current plan.