Welcome
Welcome to Guildford Borough Council’s dedicated website on shaping the town’s future.
The Council’s ambition is to breathe new life into the town by opening up the riverside, reducing congestion, improving alternative, sustainable and affordable transportation as well as making the centre a more attractive place to live, work and visit.
This is only the beginning of the journey and your views will help shape the project prior to detailed design and implementation.
Your comments are important to us and will help shape the project moving forward.
A number of events, online and face-to face have already been held to help inform the development of the masterplan.
A copy of the full Stage 2 report was presented to the Council’s Executive in September and can be viewed here along with appendices.
Background
Guildford is a highly desirable and successful town with a unique character. However over time there has been a decline which needs to be addressed to re-establish its standing in Surrey and the wider region.
With changing economic patterns in retail and the increasing demands for affordable housing, the Council recognises that Guildford needs a “resilience and growth” plan to defend itself against economic seepage to competitor towns.
The Council is committed to maintaining architectural compliance to a set of design guidelines in terms of height, massing and material selection that integrate within the Guildford townscape
Traffic congestion and gridlock around the gyratory has resulted in poor air quality with the ongoing threat of flooding, poor architecture and public realm all key issues to be addressed.
It’s time to focus on these challenges and revitalise the town’s assets particularly the River Wey Canal.
The Council agreed in July 2020 to bring forward a sustainable and ambitious town centre masterplan to show how strong vision can achieve so much more than piecemeal and uncoordinated development. You can download a copy of the Stage 1 Strategic Spatial Masterplan here and Masterplan Stage 2 report here.
A key part of this is to find out the views of people living and working in Guildford including businesses, strategic partners and organisations.
