Welcome to the Guildford Society
The Guildford Society has been an active voice, speaking up for the town and its surrounding countryside and villages, since 1896. As a Civic Society, we act as a focus for all who care about Guildford’s heritage and environment. While mindful of the past, we look firmly to the future.
We recognise that development must, and will, take place. However, we do not believe this should be at the expense of Guildford’s historic character and beauty, nor of the unspoilt countryside that surrounds it.
We pay close attention to Key Sites scheduled in the borough; and the development of the Town Centre Master Plan..
Hot Topics
Our latest or most important news is below.
Scroll Down to see earlier posts sorted by Topic Areas; below the Hot Topics.
Guildford Design Awards 2021 View article
The Guildford Society and Guildford Borough Council are jointly organising the 2021 Guildford Design Awards.
Cllr Joss Bigmore, Leader of Guildford Borough Council and Peter Coleman Chairman of the Guildford Society Design and Heri... View article
Wisley Airfield Update View article
News of the Wisley Development has been quiet lately, but a lot has been going behind the scenes.
A Public Consultation Event took place in mid-May. There is a summary Video of the scheme indicative form on the Wisley Airfield Website&... View article
Town Centre Master Plan Stage 1 Approved - UPDATED 17-6 View article
The Guildford Council Executive has considered the outputs of the first phase of the Guildford Economic Regeneration Programme (GERP) on 25th May. The Council executive approved the funding to move to Phase 2 of the programme.
The first stag... View article
The Plaza Site - living space for 300 people. View article
Tiger Developments Ltd are starting a public consultation exercise for the Plaza Site – the vacant plot of brownfield land located between Bury Street and Portsmouth Road on the fringe of the town centre.
The proposals seek to transform the ... View article
London lessons for Guildford View article
Oxford Street first became synonymous with shopping and fashion in the late 19th century, marked by the opening of John Lewis in 1864, followed by House of Fraser (Fraser & Sons) in 1879, 1909 saw Selfridges open.
In 2021, the picture is very ... View article
Preparing the UK for Climate change View article
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) is the UK's a independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008. Its purpose is to advise the UK and devolved governments on emissions targets and to report to Parliament on pr... View article
Investment in the Technology Sector View article
Tech Nation is an organisation that provides coaching, content and community for founders and start up organisations in the Hi-Tech sector in the UK.
It has recently produced the latest in its annual overviews, which started on 2015, o... View article
The World Energy challenge View article
The World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index 2020 benchmarks the energy systems of 115 economies, highlighting the leading players in the race to net-zero emissions, as well as those with work to do.
The WEF highlight that ... View article
Electrifying Lorries View article
The Centre for Sustainable Road Freight is a collaboration between Cambridge and Heriot-Watt Universities and organizations in the freight and logistics sectors, with a major 5-year grant from The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Counc... View article
Surrey Artists Open Up View article
The annual Surrey Artists Open Studios (SAOS) is taking place for the twenty-first year.
Artists in Surrey will be opening their doors and welcome members of the public from the 5th June to 20th June. The venues are normally open 11:00am to ... View article
Major changes to the Railways View article
The recent White Paper (See Below) on the future of the UK Railways proposes a series of changes to promote better integration and simplification of the rail system. To an extent this is reverting to the old British Rail Structure although... View article
Guildford Testing the National Model Design Code View article
Guildford Borough Council has been selected as one of 14 authorities to evaluate the application of the new National Model Design Code (NMDC). The NMDC is part of the revsion of the planning system proposed in Planning for the Future.
T... View article
Slyfield Sewage Works on the Move View article
Thames Water plan to relocate the Guildford Sewage Treatment Works (STW) as a like-for-like replacement of the facilities, which treats wastewater for around 120,000 people. Thames Water expect to submit a planning application to Surrey County ... View article
Topic Areas
Our Posts are categorised by Topic Areas; a post can appear in more than one topic area. Please use the links below to see ALL posts by Topic. Society News on critical issues and events etc. is available here.
Society Working Groups, are aligned with a Topic Area(s) these look at the preservation and evolution of Guildford; details can be found in the Topic Area concerned.
Help us make Guildford better
As a Civic Society, we act as a focus for all who care about Guildford’s heritage and environment. While mindful of the past, we look firmly to the future.
We recognise that development must, and will, take place. However, we do not believe this should be at the expense of Guildford’s historic character and beauty, nor of the unspoilt countryside that surrounds it.
We want our town to be vibrant, attractive and liveable. We support development that brings a sense of place and enhances the best aspects of our town. If such aims can be embraced, we believe Guildford has the chance to lead the way in enabling sensitive and sustainable development.
Pressures for development are increasing. Planning rules are being eased. The Society’s commitment to standing up for Guildford is needed more than ever.
Other Organisations
The Society engages with a variety of other organisations who share our interests and we share their links for information. We are also include links to Guildford Borough Council and other Government bodies and Developers of key sites. Finally we include other links of interest that are related to the borough.