THE GUILDFORD SOCIETY
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
By the time this message is published the closing date for objections to the Secretary of State’s Report on the SE Plan will have passed. I hope that many of you responded to our August mailing.
I apologise for the complexity of the Leaflet that was sent out but it is fair to say that the Government (GOSE) made it difficult for people to object. The timing of the Report itself posed a number of practical problems with holiday absences. The method of objection posed additional problems: while this was clear for those on line, those not on line were told to download the appropriate forms from it!
Our thanks go to John Baylis who appeared before the earlier Examination in Public and prepared our official response. Also to Amanda Mullarkey who prepared the documentation for our August mailing and addressed Guildford Borough Council’s Executive Committee on 2nd October on behalf of the Society when the Council’s own response to the Plan was discussed. John and Amanda have subsequently been invited to help with the drafting of the Council’s response. Thanks too to David Bunting who organised a stall outside the Guildhall on two Saturdays to publicise the issues and to persuade the public to respond. As a result of our efforts 300 people completed forms of objection. Thanks too to everyone else who helped with the campaign – too numerous to mention.
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One of the main points in our formal letter of objection was to point out that the draft Plan and the Secretary of State’s Report are both based on estimates of population and economic growth that will undoubtedly have been affected by the current global economic crisis. We have therefore asked the Secretary of State to defer any further action on the Plan until an in-depth appraisal of the implications of the economic situation has been carried out. Present economic circumstances demonstrate the importance of making this move: the Plan will be discredited if it demands housing deliveries which are unachievable at the low point of the economic cycle.
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It is too early to know with any certainty what effect the global economic crisis is likely to have on Guildford although we already know that there will be at least a two year wait before plans for the station development are finalised. The downturn is surely likely to lead to a reduction in the number of planning applications and the implementation of those where permission has already been granted. Who will lend money to the developers to build all the houses required by the SEPlan? Who will lend to the potential purchasers of those houses? Will the Government or Surrey County Council have any money to spend on improving Guildford’s infrastructure?
Will this delay even further Westfield’s Friary extension? Which retail chains will be in a strong enough financial position to take on a lease? We argued that Guildford did not need an increase in retail capacity of 20% contained within Westfield’s existing planning permission even when the country’s economy was flourishing. We argued that it would affect the viability of the High Street. Our argument is all the stronger if we are now in an economic recession. Will North Street continue to have a down-at-heel air with unlet and boarded-up shops?
We have been told that monies from the sale of Bedford Road are needed to fund the rebuilding of the Civic Hall. Will the Bedford Road site now be easy to sell and at a sufficient price? Will the Council continue with its plans to rebuild the Civic Hall?
A recent article in the Financial Times reported that 35 of the top 53 global companies had offices in Guildford – a fact which was said to underpin the town’s appeal to potential homeowners. The article concluded that “if Guildford cannot weather the property squalls, few places can”. We will have to wait and see if that conclusion can be justified.
May I wish you all a very happy Christmas.
Margaret Wailen
November 2008
On Friday 7th November Margaret Wailen announced she was resigning as Chairman of the Society with immediate effect. Members of our Executive regret that Margaret felt she had to resign. She has done a great deal for the Society over the years and brought new energy to the Chairmanship. We were in difficulties when the Executive did not give wholehearted support to actions she thought necessary, and this occurred on several occasions.