Guildford borough council meeting agrees new 10-year strategy, spending commitments and governance reforms in packed agenda as Lib Dems deliver on ‘Greener, Fairer, Thriving Future’ commitments

A marathon meeting has seen Guildford borough council approve a range of new measures, including 98 new affordable homes, a £1.1 million upgrade to a nature reserve and a new 10-year Corporate Strategy as the Liberal Democrats announced they were delivering on their ‘greener, fairer, thriving’ election promises.

Councillors met on 23 July to discuss a jam-packed agenda, opening with questions from councillors where Cllr Fiona White (Lib Dem), the Lead Member for Planning, announced that the council was developing new planning guidance to address the heights of tall buildings in new developments, with a draft to be produced by the end of the year, and would also be updating  policy on heights in the upcoming Local Plan Update. Cllr White said that members of the public would be able to have their say on the new planning guidance in a 4-week consultation early next year.

Liberal Democrat council leader Julia McShane then started the debate on the new Corporate Strategy saying she was “delighted” to be introducing the item for debate, and asking councillors to endorse “the culmination of months of intensive work” by adopting the new long-term 10 year strategy for the borough.

Describing the strategy, Cllr McShane said:

 “At the heart of it sits our vision to make Guildford borough a thriving place to live, work and do business. To bring this vision to life we have identified five key priorities that will be the focus of all that the council does over the coming years. These are:

“A more sustainable borough: Continuing our progress to net zero and becoming a more environmentally responsible council.

“A more prosperous borough: doing all we can to make sure that Guildford borough is a place where businesses can thrive and where the benefits of that are felt by all our residents.

“A more inclusive borough: ensuring that our borough is a place where everyone feels welcomed, listened to, valued and respected.

“Decent and affordable homes: using our powers and responsibilities both as a landlord and the local planning authority to help local people have access to decent homes that they can afford.

“A resilient and well-managed council: making sure that as a council we provide the best possible services, spend public money wisely, and make the best possible decisions in the right way.”

Councillors were also told that the strategy would be followed by annual delivery plans and reports to scrutiny committees to ensure it was being delivered.

The new Corporate Strategy received cross-party support and councillors voted to adopt it by 27 votes to 7, before moving on to hear an update on the council’s progress in recovering from financial difficulties, which last year saw its chief finance officer warn of a serious danger that the council might need to declare bankruptcy. However, in the update on the council’s Medium Term Financial Plan, councillors were told that urgent savings measures had resulted in a £4.1 million underspend in the previous year’s budget, thanks in part to a £3.8 million VAT refund on leisure services, which had enabled the council to increase its unallocated financial reserves to £7.1 million.

Cllr Richard Lucas (Lib Dem), the Lead Member for Finance, told the meeting that the council was “moving from being a reactive organisation to being proactive, spelling out our priorities, putting the plans in place, allocating the resources and tracking them accordingly”, saying that  this represented “an organisation moving from crisis to an organisation planning where it’s going.” However, he also warned councillors the medium term financial plan still showed a £2.4 million budget gap by 2027 and that further work was still needed to close that gap. 

Later in the meeting, councillors approved a £1.1 million project to protect wildlife and improve public access and facilities at the Riverside Nature Reserve and to open Parsonage Water Meadows to the public, with funds being taken from a reserve set aside for their long-term maintenance. Councillors also voted by 29 to 2 to appoint Wates Construction as the council’s development partner in a multimillion pound project to build 248 homes on a disused council car park on Guildford Park Road, of which 98 will be council homes for affordable rent or shared ownership.

Cllr George Potter (Lib Dem), the Lead Member for Environment and Climate Change, praised the scheme for what he called “exemplary” proposals for sustainable council homes, noting that the development would include a 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to current standards, 15% lower than required water usage, 99% of construction waste being diverted from landfill away and a 30% increase in biodiversity, and said that he hoped “other developers across the borough will look to this scheme as the gold standard for responding to the climate emergency”.

Other councillors said the scheme was an “exciting” opportunity to provide genuinely affordable housing on a brownfield site.

Councillors also approved a new Corporate Improvement Plan, changes to financial procedures and procurement rules, a new protocol on behaviour between councillors and officers, and updates to the council’s rules for decision-making by senior staff. Cllr Julia McShane described these as “an important package of measures to strengthen financial controls and good governance at the council”.