Letter: Why Have A Conservation Department?

Published on: 27 Sep, 2012
Updated on: 29 Sep, 2012

From John Redpath

It’s a strange thing but on Tuesday evening Guildford Borough Council’s (GBC) planning committee approved partial demolition of the Forresters and its change of use to ‘residential’.

So why does GBC have a conservation department? Can’t see any reason if they have allowed the demolition of a large 90-year-old extension to happen at a whim.

Feel free to rid yourselves of all the silly things the conservation officers do dictate in conservation areas such as:

Your front door must be at least two inches thick
You are not allowed a satellite dish on the front of your property
You are not allowed to demolish your garden wall
You must only fit wooden windows. (Despite GBC having installed plastic windows and steel doors to their properties in Cline Road in 2005.)

Why did the borough council spend our money on a conservation appraisal back in 2003? In the light of what has just happened, why is it still spending our money on employing conservation officers?

Looks like it’s a free for all – forget conservation the council certainly have! One can only assume the plans for the fire station must have been a huge distraction for all.

Must go, busy at the moment trying to work out how many houses to cram into the back garden, without parking spaces of course.

Click here to see article ‘No Reprieve For The Forresters’

Click here to see Opinion: ‘Does the Demise of Guildford Pubs Matter?’ (published last month)