Agenda item

Questions from Councillors

To hear questions from councillors of which due notice has been given.

Minutes:

(a)  Councillor Amanda Creeseasked the Lead Councillor for Environment and Climate Change, Councillor George Potter, the following question:

 

“As children were breaking up for the half term break - a regular date in the calendar - we received notification that the popular paddling pool in Stoke Park was closed over the holiday period again because of staff sickness in our small team. Unexpected closure appears to be a regular pattern each summer and we understand that the pool remains closed at time of writing. It has also been reported that the putting green has been closed due to unforeseen circumstances.

School holidays are predictable, as is the disappointment each year when these facilities are not available.

After the expensive debacle of the slippery surface and other issues in a previous summer, what measures are the council taking to make sure that the borough’s seasonal facilities are well-maintained, staffed and ready to operate when our residents expect them to be open?”

 

Response from the Lead Councillor:

“The unfortunate closure of the paddling pool during half term was due to both technical and resource issues. The service was in an unfortunate position where 50 percent of the qualified staff were absent from duty, leading to an inability to inspect and maintain a safe water environment for our service users, which resulted in the pool’s closure. Equally, the service experienced technical issues, the secondary pump for the pool failed, which created an issue in the suitability and ratios linked to the pool’s water safety and dilution rate of chemicals, which again contributed to the closure.

Resolution to this issue, includes expanded relevant training delivery within the service during Summer 2024, focussed on paddling pool safety. This training will be delivered to a larger percentage of the service than previously and support a full opening throughout the published season. The service level agreement for the paddling pool’s infrastructure will be reviewed, ensuring any technical defect is managed swiftly to minimise any closure due to technical issues. Furthermore, the service will review its recruitment timings for 2025 onwards, to ensure that the service is resourced adequately to avoid disruption previously experienced.

The putting green has continued to be maintained, yet unopen to public use, due to resource issues, similar to that aforementioned. We can confirm that the putting green will be open for public use from Monday 22 July 2024, onwards.”

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor Creese asked the Lead Councillor for more detail as to why this much valued facility had so persistently been out of operation.  The Lead Councillor responded by stating that it was an absolute priority to ensure that this facility was maintained to the highest possible standard and kept open.  It had been very disappointing that, for two years’ running, there had been delays in opening the facility, through circumstances outside of the Council’s control.  This year, the delay had been caused by a combination of a faulty pump and a high level of staff sickness absence.  Arrangements were being put in place to train other staff in the parks team to provide additional resilience.  Last year, the delays were caused by ongoing issues following the resurfacing of the pool.

(b)         Councillor Vanessa Kingasked the Lead Councillor for Planning the following question:

“The heights of buildings are an impactful aspect of many new developments in Guildford, most recently in the town centre, and it is important that the height of new developments is carefully considered within a strong policy framework. Would the Lead Councillor for Planning share details of action the Council is taking to address the issue of building heights throughout the Borough?”

 

Response from the Lead Councillor for Planning:

“At the outset it is important to be clear that, outside of the Local Plan update, we cannot create new ‘policy’ on heights by setting a height threshold for any new proposals. We also know that this Plan update will take several years – that is the reality, even with Government proposals to accelerate the current plan-making process to around three years. However, I understand the concerns of many on this matter and I agree that there is a need for action in a shorter timescale.

The height of taller buildings has the potential to cause harm to local character, important views, heritage assets and our landscapes, which we want to avoid or mitigate. Concurrently, the Council is supportive of sensitive brownfield redevelopment that makes efficient use of land in sustainable locations such as the town centre.  The cross-party Local Plan Panel discussed the need to achieve both of these objectives at our meeting late in December of last year.

I am pleased to say that following further exploratory work subsequent to that meeting, the Council will be progressing with a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to provide further guidance on tall buildings / heights.

Officers intend to bring forward an initial draft of this work to our Local Plan Panel before the end of this year. Once agreed internally, it will be consulted upon with our residents and other stakeholders. Whilst this SPD will provide clear guidance on our design expectations regarding height and taller buildings and form a material consideration for planning applications, it must supplement adopted policy.”

 

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor King asked the Lead Councillor how councillors and the public could contribute to the development of the SPD. In response, the Lead Councillor explained the process for the making of a SPD, including the points at which councillors and the public were able to submit comments.