Opinion: Proposal for a Guildford Town Council Needs Further Consideration

Published on: 14 Sep, 2026
Updated on: 18 Sep, 2026

Thom Van Every

By Thom Van Every

chairman, Guildford Conservative Association

Tomorrow (September 15) the Liberal Democrat-controlled West Surrey Shadow Authority Executive will decide whether to create a new town council for Guildford.

This follows the second stage of a Community Governance Review undertaken by the outgoing Guildford Borough Council.

See other articles on a Guildford Town Council here.

Only 6.14 per cent of the eligible electorate responded to that second stage and the result provided no clear support for the proposal. Five wards supported it and five opposed it.

Indeed, across all responses, slightly more people voted against creating the council (1,507) than for it (1,486). 204 were unsure.

In the consultation, residents were given a wide estimate for the first-year precept – the upper estimate was nearly 67 per cent higher than the lower one – and were told that the council’s initial responsibilities might include allotments and commenting on planning applications.

They were not, however, provided with a sufficiently detailed service plan or a multi-year budget. The consultation did not explain clearly which services residents would receive, what those services would cost, how much of the precept would be consumed by administration, which assets and liabilities might eventually transfer, or how duplication with West Surrey Council would be avoided.

Residents were therefore effectively asked to endorse a new council whose elected members would subsequently determine much of its purpose, expenditure and scope. This puts the cart before the horse. And it could be an expensive cart too: there is no cap on what the precept might become.

Even more concerning this decision rests entirely with the Shadow Authority Executive, without the ability for any cross-party debate or vote from the full council.

Parish and town councils can perform valuable community functions, but their purpose, responsibilities, costs and public support should be clearly established before one is created.

If Guildford residents genuinely want a town council, Guildford Conservatives will support it. But that decision should be based on adequate information and a clear public mandate.

On the evidence presently available, proceeding would look less like community empowerment and more like the imposition of an additional layer of tax and local government by the Liberal Democrats.

Rather than rushing on, the Liberal Democrat Executive should instead publish a properly costed plan setting out the council’s initial responsibilities, administrative costs and future financial implications, and then consult Guildford residents again before reaching a final decision.

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