Guildford Society

Planning News

We maintain a close interest in Planning Matters in the Borough, this is conducted by a Planning Group that meets regularly.

As well as posting items of interest on Planning, see below, we maintain a map on Key Developments in the Guildford Area: See on this Link. 

We also maintain a page containing National & Local Planning Policies See on this Link

Planning Group

The Group considers National and Local Planning Piloicies and monitors significant and comments upon proposed development and their execution in the Borough.  

Planning Group

The group reviews all major planning applications for the borough and also reviews Planning Policy documents as they arise.

Planning Group collaborates with the Design and Heritage Group on commenting, as required, on planning applications.  We recognise there is overlap between the two groups.  Planning Group calls on the Design Group for expertise on the details of design for buildings and public spaces.

The group meets every three weeks, as the Planning Application Team, to review planning applications and comment as necessary.

Planning

Covers reviewing the appropriate development of land to meet the requirements of housing, commercial and leisure space.

Guildford faces severe planning challenges, including the need, correctly, to preserve the AONB and Green Belt that covers much of the surrounding land.  Central government policy also requires Guildford to build a large number of dwellings over the next few years. This has been compounded by the Guildford Local Plan accepting a higher allocation of dwellings than is strictly necessary.

Good development requires proper supporting infrastructure. This can either be physical (water, drains, electricity, transport) or amenities (health, education, shops, sport, leisure).  Guildford has a creaking infrastructure, overcrowded roads, overfull drains and overfull doctors’ surgeries.

The Society raised many issues with the Local Plan agreed by the Borough Council in 2019.  Sadly we are having to work with a very inadequate set of planning policies. The Society is continuing to press that Supplementary Planning Policies and Development Policies allow the Local Plan to be implemented in a manner that minimises damage to Guildford.

The Society supports plans to address town-centre issues such as the one-way system, under-use of the riverside and under-utilisation of other central sites. Guildford has suffered from planning blight in the past, seen in the current state of North Street. We want to ensure such mistakes are not repeated.

We are committed to the Society playing a pro-active role in planning pre-applications, taking an independent role, and acting as a conduit of information with outside bodies.

 
Could AI Finally Unclog England’s Planning System? View article Planning delays have long been one of the biggest frustrations in England’s housing system, so it is not surprising that ministers are now looking to AI for help. Councils are set to test a Google-built planning tool aimed at speeding up decisi... View article Plan Making Process & Timescale View article The government has implemented major changes to the system by which Local Plans are created and subsequently updated.  The Guildford Society participated in two of the recent workshops involving Councilors and Local Groups which had the aim of: ... View article The impact of Grey Belt Legislation View article The London Green Belt Council and CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) Hertfordshire have collaborated on a report into the impact of the Grey Belt Planning changes implemented in the 2024 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) CPRE re... View article Local Plan Workshop View article The Council agreed in 2024 to update/renew the Local Plan for the Borough.   The Guildford Society participated in two of the recent workshops involving Councilors and Local Groups which had the aim of: sharing information about Government... View article Guildford Park Road Approved View article The Guildford Society was disappointed that the Planning Committee approved the Guildford Park Road Development (25/P/01522) on the 4th March The Society had no objections to the site being redeveloped and to provide much needed new housing. ... View article Development at Stations View article The government is promoting the principle of increasing development at Rail Stations and other transport mode.  This is a sensible objective.  However, in practice the supporting policies may have unintended consequences. Government Supp... View article Filling in the Countryside View article Guildford is at risk as planning policies are being changed by revised the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) combined with a new Housing target for Guildford mandated by central government. Developers, sensing an opportunity, have applie... View article Spatial Development Strategies for England View article The next step towards the Government’s ambition to implement Spatial development Strategies for England were announced for consultation on the 12th Febuary. -  see announcement here. Spatial Development Strategies (SDS) If the system... View article Treasury Changes to Evaluating Capital Projects View article The Green Book, published by HM Treasury in February (See link at bottom of the post), updates guidance for capital spending decisions across the UK. The new approach aims to ensure fairer investment in all regions, including urban, rural, and coasta... View article Design and Placemaking Guidance View article The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has issued a draft Design and Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) document that intended to support the support the application of policies in the draft National Planning ... View article Guildford Flood Alleviation Scheme View article Guildford Town Centre has a long history of flooding from the River Wey. Flooding risk will get worse with climate change. If measures are not taken flood events are likely to be more frequent and severe. A flood defence scheme to protect Guildfor... View article Redhill Rejects Solum - Updated View article The new development at the Guildford Station, was a subject of a hard fought planning enquiry, after the development was originally rejected by Guildford Council. Solum, the developer of Guildford Station currently underway, have proposed a... View article A new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) View article The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is the foundation set of rules and policies that guide the planning process in England.  The government has published for consultation a major set of changes, and other changes to the planning system... View article Surrey Hills Natural Landscape. View article The proposed extension to the Surrey Hills National Landacpe has reached its final consultation stage.  Once consultation has been completed, and any final changes made, Natural England proposes to make an Order designating land areas as being o... View article Planning System Changes - Impact on Guildford? View article A Statement from Steve Read Minister of Housing 18th November 2025 highlighted changes to the planning system that will have a impact on the development on developments in Guildford.  The changes also limit the powers of Local Planning Author... View article Gosden Hill Objection View article The planning group of the Guildford Society Planning Group has examined the outline planning permission for the Gosden Hill site (25/P/01156) for the phased development of a residential-led mixed-use for the site in Merrow. The Society h... View article Heathrow Airport View article The expansion of Heathrow Airport has advanced, following the Government's initiation of a review into plans for a third runway. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander emphasised her department’s commitment to making a decision on the airport&... View article Rail Stations - Support Development and Regeneration. View article 85% of the UK population live within 5km of one or more of the UK 2,500 stations. These offer the potential to drive area regeneration and increase housing supply. The Government supports place-based schemes for growth and new homes, recognising... View article Major Development Coming to the Borough View article The Local Plan (LPSS2019) was adopted in 2019 and has now expired.  The Council are working to create an updated local plan. This particularly affects the housing numbers the borough needs to supply where the number per annum has approximately d... View article Response to the Consultation on Tall Buildings SPD View article The Guildford Society welcomes the Tall Buildings SPD and has long advocated for a policy of managing building heights in Guildford Borough.  To support this, we published the ‘Review of Height and Tall Building Policies’ in February... View article Guildford needs to Rethink Housing Density? View article Guildford’s new housing targets are ambitious: the Government’s Standard Method now calls for 1,000 new homes per year—double the previous figure. This is especially tough in a borough with large greenbelt zones, challenging landsca... View article Pressure on the Greenbelt. View article The Green Belt in UK planning serves as a method to manage urban growth and protect rural landscapes. The overarching goal is to maintain a clear distinction between urban and rural areas. This openness is both visual and spatial, not just the absenc... View article Guildford Council's Update on the Five-Year Housing Land Supply View article As of 1 April 2024, the Council’s most recent assessment reports a five-year land supply of 5.66 years, based on the Local Plan: Strategy and Sites (LPSS) adopted in April 2019, with an annual housing requirement of 562 dwellings. Chang... View article Planning and Infrastructure Bill - Updated July 2025 View article The Planning and Infrastructure Bill as its title implies covers a number of topics encompassing modifying existing legislation as well as new legislation. Changes Proposed to the Bill July 2025 Considerable concern has been raised at the provi... View article Consultation on Tall Building Heights in Guildford Town - ends 8-8-25 View article Planning policy plays a crucial role in shaping development by providing clarity to developers and decision-makers about expectations. The Local Plan includes policies addressing design, which are vital for proposals involving taller buildings. A com... View article
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Archived Articles
A New Era in Planning. View article The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has attracted a lot of attention with its use of the Standard Method to determine new housing numbers required by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs).  In parallel there are a number of other initi... View article Planning Changing Yet Again View article The new government has wasted no time in considering putting in place it's proposals for revising planning rules. See annoucement here.  As part of this exercise it has produced a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for co... View article Debenhams - 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 Permitted Development Rights – Good News? View article The Society has been concerned at the loophole in planning regulations that provided no minimum standards for dwellings created by conversion of commercial buildings via Permitted Development Rights. Permitted Development Rights have delivered 60,000... View article Planning for the Future - Major changes ahead for planning system View article The government is consulting on a White Paper that proposes major changes to the plannning system.  The Society will be responding by the end of October.  The White Paper has prompted mixed reactions. The Society is on inital review has ... View article
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