Town masterplan revealed

Guildford Borough Council has published its draft masterplan for the town centre and six weeks of public consultation on it will start in October.

A key focus of the masterplan is reconnecting the town centre with the riverside area and tackling traffic problems and an overview of some of its key features has been described in a Guilford Dragon Article. Key features include two preferred options to close the gyratory system, pedestrianising North Street and potentially making the town centre a car free zone. Above all the masterplan will be used at the heart of the 20 year local plan and is meant to create more housing, office space and shopping areas while making the overall urban environment more open and attractive.

Artists impression of how the riverside could look when looking across to where the car park in front of the George Abbott pub currently is

For those interested the full draft masterplan can be seen here (warning: large file).

Commenting on it Lib Dem Councillor Caroline Reeves, leader of the opposition on Guildford Borough Council said:

Leader of the opposition at Guildford Borough Council, Cllr Caroline Reeves (Lib Dem, Friary & St Nicolas) said: “I am very pleased that this is now moving forward, we need to have a clear direction for the town so that we can stamp the identity we want on future development.

“The importance of our heritage and the countryside around us has been acknowledged, as well as the need to enhance the river and improve life for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Improvements to our traffic management are key to the future success for the town and we need to ensure that when the final Town Centre Masterplan is agreed, we hold our nerve and create a town for future generations to enjoy, and where business can continue to flourish.

“I look forward to talking with residents during the course of the consultation, we need everyone to really engage with this important document for the future of our town.”

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.”

Give your views on new levy on developers

Guildford Borough Council is asking for feedback on its proposals for how much developers will have to pay towards the cost of local infrastructure in the future.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a new charge system which lets councils fund, provide, replace or maintain infrastructure (such as transport, schools, GPs surgeries and playgrounds) with funds raised from new developments with the council deciding how much has to be paid per square metre of development.

The consultation runs until 1 March 2015 so if you want to make your views heard then you can respond to the online survey here.