Plans for Town Swells Attendance at Guildford Society Meeting

Published on: 26 May, 2012
Updated on: 26 May, 2012

Lady Onslow with Society Chairman Michael Jeffery

Proposed plans for the centre of Guildford are believed to have increased the attendance at the Guildford Society’s Annual General Meeting held on May 17th.

The 77th AGM held at the Guildhall on 17 May was exceptionally well attended by 76 members, 50% up from the previous year. One organiser said: “The increased attendance was probably a measure of the interest in all the current developments pending in the town. I mean the bus station, the railway station, the future of the Friary shopping centre, a new town centre food supermarket, to say nothing of the Town Centre Master Plan, in whatever guise it is coming.”

Michael Jeffery giving his report

The Chairman, Michael Jeffery led the members through a far-from-routine agenda which included reports from himself, the treasurer and committee chairmen, highlighting an extremely active year for the Society.

Members were encouraged to keep abreast of the Guildford Vision Group, which is campaigning for a far-reaching visionary master plan for the future of our town that will face up to the ever-worsening traffic problems, by visiting their excellent website.

Lady Onslow’s nomination as the Society’s new President was unanimously endorsed by the members. In accepting, she said what an honour she felt it to be, and spoke emotionally of the way she, as President, will replace her late husband, Lord Onslow, who had served for thirty five years and whose stalwart support was so highly valued by the society.

John Bannister

The second part of the meeting shifted from a local focus to a national or even global one. John Bannister of the Guildford Environmental Forum gave a very articulate presentation of the issues affecting the future of our beloved but beleaguered planet.

It was a wake-up call in so many ways, either to the disturbance of the ecological balance by losses of wildlife, especially the birds and the bees, or to the deleterious emissions which we create. Future generations, particularly our children and grandchildren, will not thank us for procrastination in disciplining our lifestyles.

His presentation of many shocking statistics is being made available on the internet and accessible from the Guildford Society’s website.