By George Christiansen

Look back at a picture of Guildford from the 1970s and you would be hard-pressed to see what’s changed. The centre of Guildford is stuck in an era long past; as the rest of the country modernises and transitions into a new age, Guildford drags its heels in the ground. The North Street in particular is in a dire state, the pavements are filthy, shops lie vacant and derelict, as the fumes of lorries and cars, which hurtle down the centre of the street, pollute the air.

Recently, a plan for the development of North Street was proposed by a private construction company, that intended to rejuvenise the derelict city centre. It included the construction of 473 new homes, in multiple stylish apartment blocks that were 4-11 stories high. North Street was to be pedestrianised, with new squares, fountains, cafés and restaurants. The current bus station, a concrete monstrosity like a cyanide pill for the eyes, home to abandoned chewing gum, crisp packets and frustrated passengers waiting for their delayed busses, was to be utterly remade into a modern, efficient and elegant building.

There is nigh on ubiquitous support, both amongst borough councillors and the public in Guildford for the long overdue development of the town centre, with the exception of one elderly lady we interviewed who declared “I don’t like change”. In spite of talk of a town centre redevelopment being ongoing for 30 years; within the council, party politics still supersedes pragmatic decisions and the running of Guildford. The North Street development plan was blocked by a vote on a knife edge, 7-7 with the chair ruling against it. Whilst the local Residents for Guildford and Villages party supported the scheme, it was voted against by the Conservatives and some of the Liberal Democrats, on the grounds that there was not sufficient numbers of affordable housing. The Conservative controlled Surrey County Council urged the borough council to vote against the plan, on the grounds that it may disrupt the bus route, though they never actually attended any of the council meetings and discussions on the matter.

Although there is widespread support for a development of the town centre, views as to how this should be done differ, with parties more than happy to criticise proposed plans, yet they are unwilling to provide realistic suggestions as to how they should be improved. As a consequence of the council’s reluctance to act, a new variation of the plan has been proposed, where the pedestrianisation of North Street has been revoked. This had the capacity to drastically increase the cleanliness of the air in Guildford Town Centre for pedestrians, making their journey more pleasant and would allow the Market to flourish. Should the council continue to strike down further plans to develop the town centre, the developer will withdraw and build elsewhere, condemning Guildford to yet more years of antiquity and stagnation, stuck in an era we are all eager to leave far behind.