Worplesdon Matters – ‘What a Joke!’

Published on: 18 Mar, 2019
Updated on: 19 Mar, 2019

A Conservative election campaign newsletter is misleading, says Julian Cranwell, regular council critic, and Dragon commentator. “The Worplesdon Tory candidates have already published their flyer with the claim ‘preserving our local green belt’. What a joke!”

In a recent video interview (17 minutes in), Council Leader Paul Spooner had told The Guildford Dragon NEWS that his party would not be repeating the promises to protect the green belt they made in 2015.

The Worplesdon Matters newsletter (click on image to enlarge)

The controversial candidate selection in Worplesdon last year was followed by the resignation of Cllr Bob McShee because of his deselection as a Conservative candidate for the May 2 borough council elections. Cllr Iseult Roche, another Conservative borough councillor for Worplesdon and member of the GBC Executive, unexpectedly withdrew from the selection process because, some observers believe, she felt it likely she would not be successful.

Cllr Bob McShee

Cllr McShee said: “Anyone reading Worplesdon Matters, who does not know better, would imagine that the Conservative team of borough councillors in Worplesdon is David Elms, Dennis Paul and Keith Witham. This is not the case. Of the three, only David Elms is a borough councillor for Worplesdon.

“I was among the three Conservative councillors elected in 2015 to represent Worplesdon and I was the member of the Planning Committee representing Worplesdon when the planning applications, listed in the leaflet were successfully resisted. I served on the Planning Committee until I was removed by Cllr Spooner.

“I will be standing again to represent my home ward of Worplesdon in May but as an Independent.”

Cllr Paul Spooner

The Guildford Dragon put three questions to Cllr Spooner (Con, Ash South & Tongham).

Q. Which parts of Guildford Borough’s green belt will the Worplesdon candidates preserve?

A. Reading the text [of the newsletter], they are referring to what local Conservatives have already done and listing what they have campaigned for. Cllrs Elms, Roche and McShee did lobby for review and promoted the sensitivity analysis that resulted in removal of sites in Worplesdon ward. County Cllr Witham engaged in similar discussion on the Local Plan. This appears factually correct.

Q. Doesn’t the distribution of this leaflet conflict with your answer, in our video interview, that such green belt claims would not be included in election campaign literature this time?

A. No, this appears to be presenting local ward member success. Not ‘vowing’ to stop any green belt development that I fundamentally disagree with. This does not cross the line, in my opinion.

Q. Why is it not made clear that two of the three councillors mentioned are not borough councillors representing Worplesdon?

A. Cllr Witham does represent Worplesdon as part of his division at the county council. Cllr Paul, a resident within Worplesdon, has represented another area and has provided great insight to the Conservative group at GBC given his day job over the past four years.

Cllr Spooner added: “Cllr McShee did also lobby me as lead member for planning policy that if Worplesdon sites were removed he would take a borough view of the Local Plan and be supportive.

“He subsequently changed his mind and wanted all green belt removed from the Local Plan and significant intensification in the urban areas of Guildford and Ash & Tongham.”

Worplesdon county councillor Keith Witham.

County Cllr Keith Witham, a Conservative Worplesdon candidate, said: “We have highlighted that in Worplesdon ward, over the past four years, there were proposals for more than 2,000 homes to be built in the local green belt, which Worplesdon Conservatives opposed and that we have successfully campaigned against all of those, and successfully preserved the Worplesdon green belt, with the one exception of the development for 148 homes given planning permission off Keens Lane.

“Our role is to represent the concerns and views of local residents in Worplesdon, which we are doing. That’s what local councillors do, represent their area. That’s what the Conservative team for Worplesdon has done, and will continue to do.

“We will be candidates at the GBC election. Two of us (David Elms and I) represent Worplesdon at GBC/SCC and the third, Dennis Paul, who lives in Perry Hill and is a Holy Trinity borough councillor, is standing for election in his home area.”