Landlord accreditation scheme launches

A new accreditation scheme for landlords in Guildford has been launched following work by a Liberal Democrat councillor. Under the new voluntary scheme landlords and agents have to meet certain standards of property maintenance and tackling anti-social behaviour and in return institutions like the University of Surrey promote these landlords to people looking for accommodation.

The scheme came from a council group led by Lib Dem Councillor Caroline Reeves and aims to raise standards in private rented accommodation both for tenants and for neighbours. The scheme is funded by Guildford Borough Council and the University of Surrey in partnership.

The new scheme is especially good news for Onslow neighbourhoods like Ashended, Dennisville and Guildford Park where the number of houses of multiple occupancy have increased dramatically in recent years.

Talking about the scheme, Cllr Caroline Reeves said:

“I have lived in the same house for 27 years, very close to the town centre, and have seen the changes in the community now that so many homes are let to families or tenants sharing.

“Houses of Multiple Occupancy or ‘HMOs’ are the only way that many can live in the town, and increasingly it’s young professionals not students who have to share. As a ward councillor, I receive complaints from both tenants and the neighbours of rented properties, and it seemed to me that there must be a way of ensuring that as an authority we can help all concerned.

“We worked together with the University of Surrey and Surrey Students’ Union and obtained input from all our further education bodies plus a number of agents and landlords, to design a scheme which will provide improved quality assurance for all landlords, letting agents, tenants and their neighbours.”

Students out litter picking again

Last Wednesday (the 25th of February) myself and other students from the University of Surrey were once again out picking up litter in residential areas. Five bags of rubbish were collected by volunteers in Guildford Park Avenue.

What’s more, the University of Surrey Students Union (USSU) is making plans to organise a litter picking session of their own in the area between the main entrance to the university and the Tesco roundabout. Anyone who’s walked through the area will know that there is a serious ongoing problem with litter so it’s great that the USSU is taking the initiative to do something about it.

And for anyone who wants to organise their own litter picking session it’s surprisingly easy. The council can provide loans of equipment (including bags, gloves, litter pickers and hi-vis jackets) and collect the rubbish afterwards if you contact them (01483 50 50 50) so all you really need to do is find volunteers and set a date. And if you do decide to organise one, don’t forget to invite us – we’ll happily come along to help if we can!

Surrey students go litter picking

On the 13th of December a group of students from the University of Surrey went out in Guildford Park Avenue as part of a volunteer litter picking session aimed at making a contribution to the local community. The student volunteers ended up collecting five bin bags worth of rubbish during the session and are planning to make this a monthly exercise.

Student volunteers at the end of the session.

Student volunteers at the end of the session.

When I first set about organising this session I was incredibly encouraged by the large number of students who emailed me wanting to take part – although only a small number were able to go out this close to Christmas there are many more who are hoping to join in the January session.

When organising the session I was also lucky enough to receive help and advice from the university’s students union as well as the Do More and the People & Planet societies at the university who both promoted the session to their members and encouraged them to take part.

Of course, the ultimate goal will be for the organisation of these sessions to be taken over by the student union or a university society so that they become a regular occurrence.

But in the meantime I’m looking for suggestions of which area the next suggestion should focus on – anyone with ideas or suggestions should contact me (George Potter) using the details elsewhere on this website.

Onslow needs a neighbourhood plan

Under the Localism Act 2011 it’s now possible for local communities to develop and implement a neighbourhood plan introducing planning guidelines and requirements for their communities. After speaking to local residents it seems clear that getting a neighbourhood plan for Onslow would be the best way of dealing with multiple problems which currently slip through the cracks.

For example, in Ashenden and other estates it’s clear that there’s a problem with family homes being bought up and converted into houses of multiple occupancy with families being slowly priced out of the area, damaging the local community. Yet in other parts of the country where they’d had this problem neighbourhood plans have introduced policies to ensure balanced communities, such as Exeter.

Neighbourhood plans can also cover things like protecting green and community spaces, identifying ways in which the local area can be improved and which kind of developments should go where.

It’s not possible for a neighbourhood plan to contradict the council’s own Local Plan but it does provide a way for a community to decide what the local planning priorities are in detail.

The first step on the road to a Neighbourhood Plan is the creation of a representative Neighbourhood Forum and the last step is a binding local referendum on the proposed Neighbourhood Plan with lots of consultation, participation and drafting in between.

Unfortunately, with Guildford council’s decision to delay the finalisation of the Local Plan until after the general election it seems unlikely that any Neighbourhood Plan could be drawn up until the Local Plan’s been published. But that’s no reason that work on the preliminary step of setting up a Neighbourhood Forum couldn’t start before then.

So, if I’m elected next May I’ll do all I can to make sure that we get a Neighbourhood Plan for Onslow Ward. And between now and then I’ll be speaking to local residents about the idea to find people interested in forming a Neighbourhood Forum as a starting point. After all, something like this really needs to be led by members of the community and not just by politicians.