Pressure Groups Offer Qualified Praise to Inspector Examining Guildford’s Local Plan

Published on: 9 Jul, 2018
Updated on: 9 Jul, 2018

The two major Guildford planning pressure groups, The Guildford Society and Guildford Vision Group, have given qualified praise for the way planning inspector, Jonathan Bore, has run the examination of Guildford Borough Council’s Local Plan.

They both single out the inspector’s expressed views on town centre planning and the opportunity he gave them to express their own organisations’ points of view.

They now hope that this will result in a more collaborative approach to town centre planning by the borough council who have refused, in the past, they claim, to fully involve them in the planning process, even banning direct communication between council officials and members of the two organisations.

In a press release, a spokesperson for The Guildford Society (GSoc) said: “The society considers that the inspector has so far run the Examination in Public in an objective and open way.  We have been encouraged that 12 Days of hearings have provided an opportunity for all parties to air their views where they already had standing in the consultation process.

“A major positive development is that during the inquiry the council volunteered a draft policy (S3) to cover the town centre.  The society believes this will be helpful and are supportive of the comments the inspector has made on additions he would like included in the policy.”

Julian Lyon, GSoc chair

Julian Lyon, chair of GSoc, added: “We have always known that this Local Plan is not, and will not be, the best plan for Guildford, but we engaged in the consultation process to try to improve it not kill it.

“Similarly, we engaged in the hearings where we thought we could add something. We are consequently delighted that the inspector took on board many of the comments we have been making for the last five years, such as on areas of relative deprivation in the Guildford Urban Area, along with our aspiration for master-planned regeneration in the town centre.”

But GSoc remains concerned that it has not been demonstrated convincingly that several of the strategic development sites in the plan have compelling reasons to be removed from the green belt, and that they each have their own sustainability and transport issues.

Lyon continued: “The fifth purpose of the green belt is to encourage urban regeneration. If, at the first signs of difficulty of master-planning and bringing forward brownfield land in the town centre or Guildford Urban Area, we opt to target the green belt instead, we are clearly failing to apply that fifth purpose properly.”

He concluded: “It looks as though we may have an adopted plan towards the end of this year or early next year. The work now begins on making sure the prize of environmental improvements, pedestrianisation and urban renewal away from the High Street, can begin in earnest and that meaningful and inclusive consultation can be carried out as soon as practicably possible.”

The Guildford Vision Group (GVG) congratulated the council at the end of the Local Plan public hearings where the planning inspector indicated he would find the plan sound.

A GVG spokesperson said: “GVG has taken considerable comfort from the inspector, requesting a main modification of the Local Plan, calling on the council to include a new policy for the town centre, where many of the improvements sought by GVG can be incorporated.”

John Rigg, GVG chairman

John Rigg, chairman of GVG said: “We are really pleased with the inspector’s call for a new town centre policy. The inspector has clearly recognised the importance of the centre. He made particular comment on the poor environment for pedestrians and also the need for better design management of development outside the historic core.

GBC is now revising the Local Plan in line with the inspector’s detailed observations. The amendments, including the new “Policy S3” for the town centre, will be the subject of public consultation in the autumn, if all goes to plan.

Rigg concluded: “We look forward to constructive dialogue with the plan team in the formulation of Policy S3.”

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