Lib Dems Campaign to Save Aldershot Road Allotments

Councillor Fiona White, Lib Dem Group Leader (Guildford Borough Council) wrote to the Surrey Advertiser concerning the Aldershot Road Allotments on the 18th March 2007.

--Letter as follows--

The latest figures about rising house prices remind us all once again about the desperate need for affordable housing in Guildford. Waiting lists are increasing every year. The borough council submitted a bid to government for PFI money to build more affordable homes, and then used the bid as a reason to push through the SPA Avoidance Strategy against fierce opposition. One result of the SPA Avoidance Strategy is to allow more houses to be built in the already over-crowded north of our town.

So it was with some puzzlement that I witnessed the Conservatives casually removing the affordable housing proposal on part of the Civic Hall site, so that they could sell the land for a hotel. It would seem that site was not essential for the PFI bid after all.

In that case it is right to reconsider one of the other sites proposed for affordable housing in the PFI bid - the Aldershot Road allotments in Westborough.

Some years ago, it was difficult to get anyone to take up an allotment and many of the sites in Guildford were not being used and the land was not being managed properly. Now, with the emphasis on the need for good, local-grown food and exercise, there is a waiting list as many people want to choose a more healthy lifestyle.

It is for that reason that Guildford Liberal Democrats believe that the proposal to use part of the allotments site for housing should be reviewed urgently and the land should be available for letting to people who want to grow their own food. Retaining the open space will also provide some small compensation to Westborough people who see yet more houses being built as the result of the SPA Avoidance Strategy, and traffic problems increasing.

There must be an urgent review of poorly-located employment land which would be better used for housing, so that we can avoid taking up one of the few open spaces in North Guildford which still exists.

--Ends--