News From Millmead

Published on: 19 Jul, 2019
Updated on: 24 Jul, 2019

A round-up of latest news from Guildford Borough Council

10 Green Flags awarded

Guildford’s parks and green spaces have been awarded a record 10 Green Flags this year – the most in the whole of Surrey and the South East.

A flower bed in the Castle Grounds marks 40 years of Guildford town twinning with Freiburg in Germany. Its Green Flag flies nearby.

The flags are awarded to beautifully maintained spaces that have the highest possible environmental standards and provide an excellent visitor experience.

They are: Sutherland Memorial Park, achieving its 17th award, while a new addition is The Mount Cemetery.

Stoke Cemetery received another award and Stoke Park has a Green Flag for the 13th year.

Allen House Grounds is awarded for the ninth year and the Castle Grounds for the 11th year.

Chilworth Gunpowder Mills receives its Green Flag for the third year and the Lakeside Nature Reserve at Ash Vale holds the flag for the second year, with an flag awarded to the Riverside Nature reserve near Burpham.

The 10th green flag goes to Guildford Crematorium.

Guildford Borough Council is responsible for 52 countryside sites and 65 parks and green sites totalling 2,600 acres.

The Green Flag Award is the benchmark standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the UK. The scheme is owned by the government through the Department for Communities and Local Government.

New playgrounds for Park Barn and Westborough a step closer

New inspiring play areas for children of all ages will be coming to Park Barn and Westborough, as plans to improve existing play spaces move forward.

Councillors agreed to invest up to £320,000 in better play provision at a meeting of the Executive on July 16 with a focus on better quality provision for all ages.

Cllr Julia McShane (Lib Dem, Westborough), said: “Thank you to everyone who shared their views in our initial consultation, it was great to hear from you.

“The next step will be workshops and consultation on the proposed designs later this year – keep an eye on our website and social media channels for more information.”

A review of the play areas at Kings College, Chapelhouse, Woodside and Derby Road will now take place before new designs are drawn up.

Funding for new fleet or refuse and waste collection vehicles agreed

At its meeting on July 16 the council’s Executive approved funding of £3.4 million for a new fleet of refuse and recycling collection vehicles.

Cllr David Goodwin (Lib Dem, Onslow) said: “We need to replace our ageing fleet of vehicles with ones that are more economical and environmentally friendly.

“Our current collection service will remain unchanged. We have explored options for electric or hydrogen-fuelled vehicles as part of this process but at this time there are no suitable, tested alternatives on the market.

“We will however be including Infrastructure to support the future purchase of electric and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles as part of the new depot as part of the Slyfield Area Regeneration Project.