Dismay as Borough Council agrees to 6,400 extra houses for Guildford

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 13th Oct 2005

Liberal Democrat councillors expressed dismay at last night's decision of Guildford Borough Council's Executive Committee to accept a proposal for 6,400 extra houses to be built in the borough over the next 20 years. The Conservative Executive was responding to a consultation on housing distribution in Surrey that forms part of the draft South East Plan. At last night's meeting, the Executive agreed to support the County Council's 'preferred option', which is for Guildford to deliver 320 dwellings per year over the next 20 years, a total of 6,400 extra homes within the urban areas and the villages by 2026.

At the meeting, Cllr Jenny Wicks (Con, Clandon and Horsley) admitted that Guildford's average rate of house-building over the last five years was only 297 per year, and that this average had been boosted by the large number of new homes built on redundant MoD land in Queen Elizabeth Park in Stoughton. Nevertheless, Cllr Wicks said "Our officers are confident that we can meet these figures." The Executive rejected both alternative proposals, which would have meant building in the green belt.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Merilyn Spier (Lib Dem, Merrow), Liberal Democrat spokesperson on planning policy, said "I am dismayed that the Executive have meekly agreed to the County Council's proposal to cram so many extra houses into our town and villages. We all believe that the green belt must be protected, but that's no excuse for giving in to County Council pressure which could ruin our town and the quality of life for everyone. This whole consultation exercise is flawed. We have been given a false choice, and we should protest vigorously."

The Executive agreed to express concern that infrastructure such as transport, utilities and social and community facilities would be needed to support the extra houses, and were worried that high-density development would change the character of the town. Cllr Wicks admitted that "Building more houses will bring more pressure" and proposed to ask for targets for infrastructure.

Cllr Vivienne Johnson (Lib Dem, Christchurch) commented after the meeting "Calling for targets on infrastructure is a mere fig leaf to cover a total surrender to County and government demands. The county's figure of 320 extra houses per year is based on super-high density development which could ruin the character of our historic town and concrete over many of our green gardens and open spaces. Our response should be an emphatic NO to so many extra houses."

Liberal Democrat councillors propose to 'call-in' the Executive's decision for further discussion at the Environment Scrutiny Committee on 24 October.