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.
Dangerous Levels of Pollution in Guildford View article
Highways England conduct a series of pollution surveys on the strategic road network. The latest survey shows pollution on the A3/A25 to A3/A31 seems to be the highest in the country by some margin and twice the median level of the 3... View article
Debenhams now St Mary’s Wharf Stage 3 Consultation View article
Native Land have commenced a three week Stage 3 of their consultation on the re-development of the Debenhams site. The consultation is being done electronically and can be found on the St Mary’s Wharf Site . There is a slide sh... View article
Open up the Riverside - St Mary's Wharf a potential opportunity? View article
One of the possible elements of the proposed redevelopment of the Debenhams to form St Mary's Wharf is the provision of a bridge from the south of the site over to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. This would have the effect of potentially opening... View article
Guildford Crematorium appears in the Architectural Press View article
The Guildford Design Awards are well underway for 2021. Despite Covid Issues with building completion we have a adaquate number of entries to consider, and judging will start shortly.. We are, for the first time, working in partnership wi... View article
Future of High Streets View article
High Wycombe is one 72 towns in the country to be awarded funding from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund (FHSF); for High Wycombe this is £15M over 3 Years
The fund will help improve perceptions of the town and revitalise its o... View article
Decarbonising Transport View article
The government has announced a plan setting out the government’s commitments and the actions needed to decarbonise the entire transport system in the UK.
Key items addressed in the plan include, the pathway to net zero transport in the UK, t... View article
Increased focus on the Beauty of New Development. View article
The ministry of Housing Communities and Local government (MHCLG) has announced 20th July 2020 the following:
New Office for Place to help councils and communities banish ugly developments and deliver beautiful, green homes andâ... View article
Parliament comments on Planning for the Future View article
The 6th August is the anniversary of the publication by the government of its White Paper, Planning for the future. There is still no date as to when a final Whitepaper is to be published as a Bill for consideration by Parliament.
Planning for the... View article
Guildford and Waverly Councils agree to increase co-operation. View article
The recent study sponsored by Surrey Borough councils on unitary authorities prompted by the proposal to have one Surrey Unitary Authority, was supported by KPMG.
KPMG identified that Guildford and Waverley Boroughs could be natural pa... View article
New Bus Station in Exeter View article
It is likely the Bus Station in central Guildford will be kept in an upgraded form as part of the North Street Development. Exeter are opening a new Bus Station on Sunday, 25 July, which provides ideas for Guildford.
Exeter Bus Station
... View article
Sustainability of Buildings View article
The Royal institute of British Architects (RIBA) is getting increasingly interested in the challenges of building with a minimal Carbon Footprint over the entire life cycle of a building.
Whole Life Carbon Metric
Understanding the impact of our... View article
Guildford adopts computer modelling for planning View article
Guildford Borough Council are in the process of implementing an advanced computer model of the Town and surroundings to support development and evaluation of plans for the borough.
The software VU.CITY is used by a number of other Local Authoritie... View article
Environmental Impact of Transport View article
The transport sector is currently the number one contributor to the UK’s greenhouse gas
emissions and little progress has been made over the past three decades in reducing emissions. 22% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are d... 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.