Related Articles
In the end, Guildford’s “most controversial issue for 30 years” was decided in just under three minutes. The walking and cycling scheme along the busy London Road has divided the community.
In October, Surrey County Council’s cabinet voted against a £6million grant to pay for improved cycling and walking routes from Burpham to the town centre. It argued that the scheme, despite its own officers and an independent report saying it would increase safety and encourage school children to cycle, would put people’s safety at risk.
Its decision was then called in for further scrutiny by Councillor Lance Spencer ( Liberal Democrats; Goldsworth East and Horsell Village) who argued it was made “in spite of overwhelming evidence” and that cabinet had “failed to consider” wider ramifications.
Forty per cent of the failed scheme would have been made up of shared space and measured 1.8m at its narrowest. Keeping the existing layout means the same 40 per cent shared space between cyclists and pedestrians but it narrows to 1.3m.
Last week, Surrey County Council’s communities, environment and highways select committee agreed with Cllr Spencer and recommended cabinet look at its decision against, this time with a fresh look at the evidence, as well as the impacts of not going ahead with the scheme.
On Tuesday, November 26, cabinet did just that, for under three minutes, with no speakers, and came to the same decision. The only person to address the item was Surrey County Council leader Councillor Tim Oliver.
He said: “We had a very lengthy discussion about this at the previous cabinet meeting. There is nothing that the selection committee raised at the meeting that wasn’t already taken into account by the cabinet. There had been many, many meetings not just with stakeholders but other interested parties.”
He added: “I can’t see that there has been any new evidence that has been put forward by the select committee. We’ve had a series of letters from members of the public and I thank them for that. It has to be said there’s been a number of different views in relation to widths of road and pavement and so on.
“But, at the end of the day there is nothing that I have seen or we have seen that changes our view of the decision that was made by the cabinet on the 29 October 2024. So that decision will still stand and we will not progress with that part of the scheme. So I thank the select committee for their input.”
And with that, two minutes and 56 seconds after the future of the London Road active travel scheme speech had begun, it was over.
