Letter: The New Solum Station Development Scheme Does Deliver What Guildford Needs

Published on: 14 Sep, 2019
Updated on: 14 Sep, 2019

From David Smith

In response to: Opinion: Rage, Rage At The Building Of The Blight That Is Solum’s ‘Great Wall Of Guildford’

I have much respect for The Guildford Dragon NEWS. So I mean no offence when I say Martin Giles’s piece is indeed just what it says, an editorial Opinion.

I am a young man who commutes to London, using this station daily. This scheme will deliver circa 400 new homes (a large proportion being affordable) and will breathe new life into what is a really scruffy part of town. It will be a visual improvement by day and, by night, turn a quiet but threatening station car-park into a safer, well-lit area.

Yes, it doesn’t answer many of the operational concerns people have but it was never supposed to. Network Rail was tasked with delivering housing on station and railway land and that’s exactly what they have done. Platform zero can still be brought back to life, so what’s the major issue?

This development is only two storeys higher than one of the student buildings now going up at Walnut Tree Close and it’s a sign of things to come if you look at what developers are expecting to build in North Street.

Of course, the scheme stands out in Guildford Society’s view but that’s in part because it’s all white. Render it into its proper colours and let’s see the image again.

There is a massive amount of support for this project and I, for one, can’t wait for it to be delivered

Responses to Letter: The New Solum Station Development Scheme Does Deliver What Guildford Needs

S Callanan Reply

September 14, 2019 at 12:57 pm

Mr Smith says that “a large proportion” of the homes in the Solum development will be affordable.

When the planning inspector overturned on appeal the decision of local planners Cllrs Spooner and Rooth were quoted on the matter in a local paper.

Cllr Rooth said: “I agree with Cllr Spooner about the affordable housing, or the lack of affordable housing. There are 438 homes in the development, of which 10% are affordable homes. 90% are market homes and the 10% that are not are shared ownership. So there are no homes, 0%, which are available for rent.”

Is 10% “a large proportion”? That’s not what I was taught when I did my sums.
Frank Phillipson Reply

September 14, 2019 at 1:10 pm

Can David Smith quantify and tell us from whom “there is a massive amount of support for this project”?

I cannot see how a massive rectangular wall of tall buildings erected across the view from the Guildford town area up to the cathedral will “be a visual improvement”.

The Walnut Tree Close buildings (which seem to be too high and oppressive anyway) are at least at a lower level and will not intrude into a well known Guildford view.

I wasn’t aware that any proposals were firmly on the table for the off/on North Street proposals.

Do we believe that of the homes being built that there will be “a large proportion being affordable”? It seems that a developer only has to say that there has been a cost overrun for them to be allowed to reduce or delete the affordable housing to ensure that they still make a profit.
Lisa Wright Reply

September 19, 2019 at 9:13 pm

So how comes our Local Plan specifies 40% affordable housing on new developments but Solum only have to build 10%?
- George Potter Reply
  
  September 20, 2019 at 9:40 am
  
  It’s because the Solum development won permission at appeal before the Local Plan had been adopted. It won, in fact, precisely because the Local Plan had been adopted, meaning that GBC couldn’t demonstrate a five-year housing supply and therefore there was a presumption in favour of approval.
  
  And because it gained approval before the Local Plan was adopted, Solum also has pretty minimal obligations to provide affordable housing or infrastructure contributions.
  
  George Potter is the Lib Dem borough councillor for Burpham