'Guildford's most controversial issue for 30 years' thrown out

London Road Burpham (image Google)
-Credit: (Image: Google Maps)


A £6million plan to improve cycling and walking routes into Guildford has been rejected. The scheme would have seen a new cycling and shared pedestrian path in London Road in Burpham and also helped Surrey hit net zero targets for the town.

The scheme, dubbed 'Guildford's most controversial issue for 30 years' has divided the community and despite being recommended for approval and being backed by Surrey County Council's most senior highways and environment members, was thrown out over concerns that cyclists would endanger pedestrian safety.

Opponents told Surrey's County Council's cabinet meeting, the narrow routes would put cyclists in conflict with pedestrians, and leave little space for heavy goods vehicles to pace along the road. Yasmin Broome, on behalf of the Surrey Coalition of Disabled People said cyclists continued to travel too fast and chaotically along London Road, and urged the cabinet to “please, please keep our disabled community safe and to and stop these proposals”.

READ MORE:Strictly star says he 'feels like a winner' on BBC show, after 7-stone weight loss

READ MORE:Map shows the Surrey areas where pensioners will lose the Winter Fuel Payment

The scheme had the backing of Guildford MP Zoe Franklin together with various ward councillors such as George Potter who argued the take-it-or-leave-it project, though not 100 per cent perfect, was a considerable improvement on the present layout. They said the currently unsafe road and pathways put people off from walking and cycling - causing greater congestion along the main route in an out of Guildford town centre. Surrey County Councillor Fiona Davidson divisional member for Guildford South-East was among those against the plans.

Those speaking in favour urged the cabinet to seize the opportunity to create what they called a safer greener Guildford. Children spoke of how they had been forced off the roads and involved in accidents while cycling to school. The new route would make it safer for hundreds of youngsters to cycle to school - cutting down on drop off and collection traffic, they added. One former pupil said: “We have to do something and this is the chance we have if we want to save the planet."

Guildford Borough Councillor and ward member for Burpham Cllr George Potter added: “This is the best scheme possible given the restraints of the route."

But their voices were overshadowed however by the majority of the cabinet who sided with speakers calling for the scheme to be scrapped. Terry Newman told the meeting on Tuesday, October 29, data suggesting the road was dangerous was erroneous and based of selective statistics.

He said: “Some infrastructure is actually worse than nothing as it promises novice cyclists some protection then abandons them when it's most needed."

The now dead-and-buried scheme, that was two years in the planning, would have put in improvements to the existing footways and five bus stops along the route - including new shelters and shared use space for pedestrians, bus passengers and cyclists. Signs and markings would direct cyclists behind bus shelters, a controlled toucan crossing would have been installed south of Ganghill junction, while junctions with Kingpost Parade, Highclere, Abbotswood and Boxgrove Avenue updated to facilitate cyclist crossings.

The remaining crossings would be changed to parallel zebra and cyclist crossings. The scheme had also been seen as critically important to the delivery of housing in Guildford with new developments reliant on improved access.

But objectors said it would have put pedestrians and cyclists into direct conflict with each other, put vulnerable people off using public transport, and - at its narrowest section - create tight pinch points.

Fiona Davidson Surrey County Council divisional member for Guildford South-East asked the committee to vote against the proposals. She said it was not only unsafe but lacked public support “they say it will make it less safe for most road users, including cyclists", she told the meeting.

The issue, she said, was that the A3100 was too narrow in places and risked creating the unintentional consequence of reducing the safety for all road users. She asked: “Do we really want to invest millions and take on that sort of risk?”

Closing the debate ahead of the vote, which rejected the plans by six votes to three, Surrey County Council leader Tim Oliver said: “I don't think that this is safe. We have to be absolutely sure the new scheme is safer than what is there.” He added a line had now been drawn under the matter.

The county council applied for funding from The Active Travel England on the back of several transport studies, with the aim of creating segregated footways and cycleways along the busy London Road. SurreyLive spoke to community leaders on both sides of the debate back in October 2023 and the sense of feeling has not changed much.

Community engagement was held for 12 weeks from September to December 2023 with the council receiving 995 individual submissions, half saying the scheme would contribute to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists and vulnerable road users, against 31 per cent who disagreed. Parts of the scheme were scrapped at the start of 2024 due to safety concerns.

Get more news about Guildford from SurreyLive straight to your inbox for free here.