The first consultation on Guildford's new Local Plan is open until 11.59pm on 14 October. It asks 21 questions about what the plan to 2045 should contain.

The first public consultation on Guildford’s new Local Plan is open. It began on Wednesday 2 September and closes at 11.59pm on Wednesday 14 October, a six-week window (Guildford Borough Council).

The new plan will set the vision, strategy and planning policies for the borough up to 2045: where homes, jobs and infrastructure go, and what is protected. Once adopted, it replaces the current Local Plan: Strategy and Sites (2019) and the Development Management Policies document (2023).

This first stage is a scoping consultation, not a sites consultation. Nobody is being asked yet where houses should be built. The council wants views on:

  • the issues, challenges and opportunities facing the borough
  • which policy topics the new plan should contain
  • the priorities that should shape the plan’s vision
  • how the council should engage people in the later, bigger consultations

There are 21 questions, all set out at the start of the scoping document on the consultation portal (Guildford Borough Council consultation portal).

What it means for you

  • Respond by 11.59pm on Wednesday 14 October at guildford.inconsult.uk/GLPS26
  • After the consultation the council will publish a summary of the responses and use them to shape the plan’s content
  • This is the first of at least three chances to have a say. A consultation on the plan’s proposed content and evidence comes next, then one on the draft plan itself
  • The council says it particularly wants to hear from people and groups “whose views are not always represented in planning consultations”

Cllr Fiona White, the council’s lead councillor for planning, said: “We’re in the early stages of the process, and we want to hear from as many people as possible. Whether you’re a resident, business owner, community group or other stakeholder, your views can help us identify the right priorities and ensure the plan’s vision reflects the needs and aspirations of our communities.”

Why the timing matters

The council is preparing the plan under the government’s revised planning system and moves into the formal 30-month plan-making process at the end of October. Before adoption, the plan will be examined by an independent Planning Inspector.

The consultation lands in a busy season for planning in the borough. The council’s Green Belt Assessment has provisionally identified swathes of grey belt land, and two called-in or appealed Green Belt schemes, Shortlands Farm in Ash and Eashing Lane on the edge of Godalming, go to public inquiries this autumn. The new Local Plan is where the borough decides these questions for itself rather than one appeal at a time; the background to this consultation, including the housing numbers the plan must confront, is in our report on the Executive’s decision in August.

Current applications are tracked on our planning applications page.