June/July 2005 No 94
It’s good for Guildford. A Conservative Council and a Conservative MP.
Many thanks to the thousands of voters who enabled Guildford to return Anne Milton as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Guildford. It is with enormous pleasure that Andrew Hodges, as Leader of the Borough Council, looks forward to having an MP with whom he can work for the benefit of Guildford.
"It is an immense honour to have been elected by the people of Guildford. I will do everything in my power to try and improve the lives of people who live here"
- Anne Milton MP
Anne Milton MP and Andrew Hodges following the Civic Service in May
Annual Statement
Each year, as Leader if the Council, I have to write a State of the Borough report. In it I outline keys areas that the Council will have to deal with in the forthcoming year.
This year I have included
Affordable housing
Anti-social behaviour
Collection of plastics for recycling
Litter reduction
Partnership working
Becoming a Fair trade town
If you would like a copy of the report please email me.
Replacement for the Civic Hall
It was a major let down when Taylor Woodrow withdrew from the project to build a replacement for the Civic Hall. The legal challenge made against the Council in appointing Taylor Woodrow as the contractor, created delay, and altered Taylor Woodrow’s view of their commercial criteria and viability. That the Council defended and succeeded in having the challenge thrown out, and was awarded costs, is now little comfort for the residents of Guildford.
So what now?
The Borough Council’s Executive moved immediately to seek a new way forward. We commissioned a review of all practical options, and reduced them to ones which would provide value for money, and which are least likely to be at risk from legal challenge. We shall now proceed with a simpler way forward, by funding the new project as before from the use of the additional land at London Road and Bedford Road, but by dealing with them separately. We are determined to get this project back on track, as it would have been had there not been the attempt to disrupt it.
London Road planning success
You will recall that in 2003 a planning application for an hotel at 43/45 London Road was refused. A subsequent application for 14 flats at 43 London Road was also refused. This went to appeal and the Inspector has upheld the refusal; the main reason being that the proposal would appear quite alien, in terms of scale and design, when compared to prevailing patterns in the vicinity. As such the Inspector believed it would harm the character and appearance of the area.
This is another important planning appeal decision, as, together with other recent appeal decisions in the ward, the success in refusing unwelcome developments has been achieved through greater emphasis being given to the street scene.