Heritage Weekend 13th 14th 15th September

Guildford Society is again supporting the annual heritage weekend where a variety of properties in the borough, many not normally accessible, are open.  These openings are often supplemented by talks and events.  Please find a full brochure at this link.

Send - Planning 

Members may be aware there has been considerable disquiet at the approval of the development for 75 houses for policy A42 in the local plan.  The Local Plan allocated the site for 60 dwellings.

The Planning Committee was a rancorous meeting with many participants being dismayed by the process of the meeting and advice given by legal and planning staff.  You can view the meeting on the GBC site.

The society is very concerned at the precedent set by this approval and is trying to clarify the situation. A key issue is the relationship between numbers allocated to a site in the Local Plan and the numbers proposed in the detailed Planning Application.  More clarity as to how these numbers relate to each other is required from the GBC planning department.    

Local Plan – Judicial Review

Not a great deal to report.  There are rumours that the council have now received a second opinion on their opposition to the Judicial Review.  
It should be noted that the Local Plan 2015 as adopted in 2019 remains in force until any judgement is made, likely to be early next year.  Please also note that parts of the 2003 plan remain in force and the council have published a update of the 2003 local plan identifying those sections that remain in force.  

Openess

The planning debate and the 2nd QC opinion both raise issues of openenss.  We hope the council - run by two parties commited to openesss and consusltation - don't renage on their commitments and show more readiness to share decsions and explain options. 

UPD 27-8-19