On 21st December 2007 Peter Hewitt, Chief Executive of Arts Council England wrote to Anne Milton MP confirming that Arts Council Funding is being withdrawn from the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.
This is an excellent theatre providing drama workshops from a very young age and across the community. It also stages excellent plays across a wide spectrum of genres and periods.
The theatre is restricted in its ability to self-finance because of its size - it probably needs to be about half as big again and to have much more circulation space.
This is another example of the Government and its quangos diverting tax revenues from the South East to feather the nests of other regions.
This decision must be overturned and there is a deadline for submission of objections to the Arts Council of 15th January 2008
Showing posts with label guildford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guildford. Show all posts
Friday, 11 January 2008
Monday, 21 May 2007
Empty Rates Relief Slashed
The Government began the process of raising money out of misfortune and tenants' agony when it used a Ways and Means process to introduce its Empty Rates Bill on 10th May.
The stated purpose of the Bill is to influence the behaviour of property owners who allow their property to remain empty while they claim relief from property tax (which doesn't mean they actually get any money from the tax man, merely that they don't pay as much as they would while their property is empty!) and to attempt to free up more brownfield sites for development.
The Government expects to raise £900m from this measure every year - presumably this is more likely to be the purpose - and consider the money to be theirs anyway!
Unfortunately the stated aim is reasonably sensible but the 'sledgehammer-to-crack-a-nut' approach is far from sensible.
In Guildford town centre there is a building known as 'The Old Tile Warehouse' on Sydenham Road that has been unoccupied and locked up for at least sixteen years. This is the kind of building that should be targted by the Government.
In practice, however, the properties that will be affected are the small business premises that have become unviable to run and yet are locked in a planning process that precludes their redevelopment, or locked in a lease that prevents them being assigned to other occupiers.
Property tax (National Non-Domestic Rates) are absurdly high in the UK relative to continental Europe. Until now the only saving grace has been that the tax is on USE rather than EXISTENCE.
If you look at Godalming a few years ago, there were many empty shops and no real market for them. These would have been hard hit by this measure. On Guildford Business Park are many thousands of sqaure feet of offices that stand empty awaiting tenants. These buildings would also suffer from the measure.
Our pension funds will be affected by falling commercial property values and why? Because the Government will stop at nothing to interfere in the markets, to raise stealth taxes and to ensure that Europe thrives at our expense.
This is the shape Gordon Brown has brought to the Treasury - what hope UK Plc when he is finally in Number 10?
The stated purpose of the Bill is to influence the behaviour of property owners who allow their property to remain empty while they claim relief from property tax (which doesn't mean they actually get any money from the tax man, merely that they don't pay as much as they would while their property is empty!) and to attempt to free up more brownfield sites for development.
The Government expects to raise £900m from this measure every year - presumably this is more likely to be the purpose - and consider the money to be theirs anyway!
Unfortunately the stated aim is reasonably sensible but the 'sledgehammer-to-crack-a-nut' approach is far from sensible.
In Guildford town centre there is a building known as 'The Old Tile Warehouse' on Sydenham Road that has been unoccupied and locked up for at least sixteen years. This is the kind of building that should be targted by the Government.
In practice, however, the properties that will be affected are the small business premises that have become unviable to run and yet are locked in a planning process that precludes their redevelopment, or locked in a lease that prevents them being assigned to other occupiers.
Property tax (National Non-Domestic Rates) are absurdly high in the UK relative to continental Europe. Until now the only saving grace has been that the tax is on USE rather than EXISTENCE.
If you look at Godalming a few years ago, there were many empty shops and no real market for them. These would have been hard hit by this measure. On Guildford Business Park are many thousands of sqaure feet of offices that stand empty awaiting tenants. These buildings would also suffer from the measure.
Our pension funds will be affected by falling commercial property values and why? Because the Government will stop at nothing to interfere in the markets, to raise stealth taxes and to ensure that Europe thrives at our expense.
This is the shape Gordon Brown has brought to the Treasury - what hope UK Plc when he is finally in Number 10?
Monday, 7 May 2007
Thanks to my supporters
I am very grateful to the 456 people who supported me on May 3rd.
The lead-in was very hectic and I wished I had been able to get around to all of the voters - 7,000 is quite a few to visit and there were simply not enough hours in the days running up to the poll. I also regretted circulating my details too early (it got lost among the pizza delivery leaflets!).
On the day I was disappointed that activists (not candidates) for both Lib Dem and Conservative teams were tearing down my posters and complaining about my attempts to ensure voters knew who I am.
I will keep raising my head above the parapet and intend to ensure the Lib Dem trio remain fully accountable to Onslow.
The lead-in was very hectic and I wished I had been able to get around to all of the voters - 7,000 is quite a few to visit and there were simply not enough hours in the days running up to the poll. I also regretted circulating my details too early (it got lost among the pizza delivery leaflets!).
On the day I was disappointed that activists (not candidates) for both Lib Dem and Conservative teams were tearing down my posters and complaining about my attempts to ensure voters knew who I am.
I will keep raising my head above the parapet and intend to ensure the Lib Dem trio remain fully accountable to Onslow.
Thursday, 15 February 2007
Let's have a rethink of the Station redevelopment
Last week Guildford Times reported the proposed addition of 40 car spaces and the extension of Platform One to accommodate twelve-carriage trains as part of a £200m redevelopment of Guildford’s Mainline Station.
I believe the provision of a small number of extra car spaces hardly amounts to a cohesive transport strategy.
The proposed redevelopment of Guildford Mainline Station should include a full (personal rather than freight) inter-modal transit point and Guildford should be pressing hard for the creation of fast rail link to Heathrow (connecting Heathrow and Gatwick via Guildford) and reinstatement of Thameslink services to Luton Airport.
We should also look to reorientate our public transport network so that most, if not all buses call at the station before reaching the terminus in the new Westfield development so that most people can get to and from the station easily without using their cars.
In addition to providing Guildford with a great boost for tourism and helping with the longer term sustainability of the University and Cathedral, this concept would help the various airports plan their Ground Transport Policy Papers in the context of their prospective growth under the SERA proposals. This approach would, however, necessitate a bold and aggressive change of thinking in terms of the transport infrastructure.
I believe that a holistic approach to transport and planning the built environment would also help solve many of the problems of capacity experienced on the One-Way system and I have put forward an outline proposal (which shows traffic/transport flows rather than specific routes) in the context of the station redevelopment that demonstrates how an inter-modal scheme might look.
This proposal also provides a possible solution to the problems of the Farnham Road bridge and the junction of Walnut Tree Close with the One-Way system.
Additional transport features could include a fixed link between the station and the Cathedral, University, Hospital, Research Park and park & ride sites, and a development of this kind would also provide the opportunity to create a gateway from the town centre and station to the University and Cathedral.
The Cathedral’s own ambitions for development to secure its financial future, and the University’s own expansion plans could be integrated into this exercise to create a high standard master plan for the ‘Cathedral and University Quarter’.
The lack of a unitary authority looking after Guildford’s wider interests prevents the current Borough Executive from tackling the wider issues of transport networks. It is also essential that it must be a unitary authority centred around Guildford (perhaps accounting for West Surrey) and not a county-wide authority.
By addressing a broad range of issues there should be additional value created for the airports, Network Rail and the appointed developers of the station, Redrow Regeneration. The improved accessibility of the town and its amenities should help to reduce congestion in the town centre and should help to encourage the use of public transport and the proposed new park & ride facilities at Manor Park.
(Further details as a plan are on my website www.julianlyon.com)
I believe the provision of a small number of extra car spaces hardly amounts to a cohesive transport strategy.
The proposed redevelopment of Guildford Mainline Station should include a full (personal rather than freight) inter-modal transit point and Guildford should be pressing hard for the creation of fast rail link to Heathrow (connecting Heathrow and Gatwick via Guildford) and reinstatement of Thameslink services to Luton Airport.
We should also look to reorientate our public transport network so that most, if not all buses call at the station before reaching the terminus in the new Westfield development so that most people can get to and from the station easily without using their cars.
In addition to providing Guildford with a great boost for tourism and helping with the longer term sustainability of the University and Cathedral, this concept would help the various airports plan their Ground Transport Policy Papers in the context of their prospective growth under the SERA proposals. This approach would, however, necessitate a bold and aggressive change of thinking in terms of the transport infrastructure.
I believe that a holistic approach to transport and planning the built environment would also help solve many of the problems of capacity experienced on the One-Way system and I have put forward an outline proposal (which shows traffic/transport flows rather than specific routes) in the context of the station redevelopment that demonstrates how an inter-modal scheme might look.
This proposal also provides a possible solution to the problems of the Farnham Road bridge and the junction of Walnut Tree Close with the One-Way system.
Additional transport features could include a fixed link between the station and the Cathedral, University, Hospital, Research Park and park & ride sites, and a development of this kind would also provide the opportunity to create a gateway from the town centre and station to the University and Cathedral.
The Cathedral’s own ambitions for development to secure its financial future, and the University’s own expansion plans could be integrated into this exercise to create a high standard master plan for the ‘Cathedral and University Quarter’.
The lack of a unitary authority looking after Guildford’s wider interests prevents the current Borough Executive from tackling the wider issues of transport networks. It is also essential that it must be a unitary authority centred around Guildford (perhaps accounting for West Surrey) and not a county-wide authority.
By addressing a broad range of issues there should be additional value created for the airports, Network Rail and the appointed developers of the station, Redrow Regeneration. The improved accessibility of the town and its amenities should help to reduce congestion in the town centre and should help to encourage the use of public transport and the proposed new park & ride facilities at Manor Park.
(Further details as a plan are on my website www.julianlyon.com)
Accountability in Local Politics
'Hotel plans to be reconsidered’ Surrey Ad 26th January, tells a story of apparent arrogance and seems to show an alarming absence of business sense. I believe that Councillor Hodges should give a robust defence of his position to ensure he hasn’t, under his leadership, brought the Council into disrepute.
I am pleased that the Scrutiny Committee has been effective in its function of calling the Executive to account.
The Conservatives have shown themselves to be good custodians of the Council and, through keeping costs firmly under control and delivering excellent value for money (the independent Audit Commission’s assessment) they have kept council tax low. In general administration, therefore, the Conservatives seem to have a considerable edge over the Lib Dem opposition.
This latest proposed transaction, however, appears to show that Cllr Hodges has not learned the lessons the previous Lib Dem regime had to come to terms with when Mr Harper challenged their proposed deal with Miller Developments on the Civic Hall site (which had not been through all of the steps required for an open market transaction).
I have plenty of experience of selling substantial tranches of land and buildings in an environment where the disposal process has to be absolutely transparent and must demonstrate adequate exposure to the market so as to ensure best value.
In this case, I am not at all reassured by the reported assertion by a council solicitor ‘that the authority did not believe that any other building company would be able to develop the land in the same way’. What Council processes were adopted, and what agreement was reached by the Council as a whole to say that this was the only use of the site? Is there a formal development brief that has been issued to potentially interested parties? I don’t believe so.
Whilst I am unhappy about the handling of this particular issue, I urge all of the current Councillors (who will be up for re-election in May) to ensure this latest hiatus does not in any way delay delivery of the new Civic Hall.
I am pleased that the Scrutiny Committee has been effective in its function of calling the Executive to account.
The Conservatives have shown themselves to be good custodians of the Council and, through keeping costs firmly under control and delivering excellent value for money (the independent Audit Commission’s assessment) they have kept council tax low. In general administration, therefore, the Conservatives seem to have a considerable edge over the Lib Dem opposition.
This latest proposed transaction, however, appears to show that Cllr Hodges has not learned the lessons the previous Lib Dem regime had to come to terms with when Mr Harper challenged their proposed deal with Miller Developments on the Civic Hall site (which had not been through all of the steps required for an open market transaction).
I have plenty of experience of selling substantial tranches of land and buildings in an environment where the disposal process has to be absolutely transparent and must demonstrate adequate exposure to the market so as to ensure best value.
In this case, I am not at all reassured by the reported assertion by a council solicitor ‘that the authority did not believe that any other building company would be able to develop the land in the same way’. What Council processes were adopted, and what agreement was reached by the Council as a whole to say that this was the only use of the site? Is there a formal development brief that has been issued to potentially interested parties? I don’t believe so.
Whilst I am unhappy about the handling of this particular issue, I urge all of the current Councillors (who will be up for re-election in May) to ensure this latest hiatus does not in any way delay delivery of the new Civic Hall.
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