Opinion: Guildford Does Need a Town Council

Published on: 6 Feb, 2026
Updated on: 8 Feb, 2026

By Gavin Morgan

founder of the Guildford History Forum

Most of us in the town centre will by now have received a booklet about a proposal to set up a  parish/town council in Guildford. There is also information on the Council website and there has also been an online event.

I shall be voting for a parish council primarily because I believe Guildford needs some form of representation and a body that can bring the community together.

Gavin Morgan

Guildford Borough Council and other local councils across Surrey (including Surrey County Council) are scheduled to be abolished on April 1, 2027 (a portentous date perhaps) as part of a local government reorganisation in Surrey.

They will all be replaced by a new West Surrey unitary authority – a sort of super council. This means there will no longer be a local authority specifically concerned with Guildford.

The few representatives Guildford gets on the unitary authority will be small fish in a big pond who can be outvoted. Decisions will be made by people who mostly do not live here.

Surrey is to be divided into two unitary authorities. SHBC

A town council will give us the opportunity to have an authority with a bit of money that can focus on town itself. While it can accurately call itself a “town council” it will be the same in function, organisation as a parish council, like those that already exist outside the town centre, with the same power and authority.

Those who say parish (and town councils) have few powers and do no more than manage allotments, benches and bus shelters do not appreciate the importance of this part of local government.

My mother was a parish councillor for over 50 years so I grew up knowing many inspiring parish councillors who have made great contributions to their communities.

Parish councils have few official powers but there are many roles they can take on. As a result they have the flexibility to bring the community together, respond to local needs and encourage local initiatives.

They are run by volunteers close to the community they serve. Party politics need to be kept out to ensure voting is pragmatic and consensual. People need to be elected because they’re known, trusted, and willing to do the work — not because of a rosette.

As an elected authority, parish councils can earn respect from other parts of local government. At planning meetings I have attended they are listened to in ways local campaigners often are not.

There is an extra cost but not a large one. I am more worried about the increased costs the unitary authority will bring. Parish councils cost on average between £8 and £12 a month for a band D home. Some active town councils charge a bit more (perhaps £15) but those who quote figures as high as £30 are referring to a minority of extreme cases.

Of course a town council is only as good as the people who sit on it and support it. However, without a town council I believe Guildford will be less of a town. Its proud heritage will be meaningless as it becomes part of a large conglomeration of housing estates along the A3 and the Hog’s Back.

Local amenity groups and social charities will operate in silos, and our sense of place and community will wither. Change is coming and we cannot stop it but we can manage it and a parish or town council will give us a chance to strengthen our community and sense of place.

A town council gives us the chance to shape our own future — and we should take it.

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