Stoughton Community Action Plan

Public Community Action Plan meetings organised by SCA and STAG

(Sponsored by Surrey County and Guildford Borough Councils)

1. Notes from 1st meeting 15th November 2004. Kick-off meeting at Emmanuel Church.  Crib sheets from 15th used on 6th.

2. Notes from 2nd meeting 6th December 2004 - Choosing Priorities: Traffic & Community Centre.

3. Minutes from 3rd meeting 17th January 2005 - Traffic & Community Centre workshops.

4. 4th meeting 28th February 2005 - Traffic.

5. 22nd June 2005  - see the Traffic pages.

The Community Action Plan meetings are intended to develop solutions to local issues that feed into County Local Committee for Guildford, so that it can make recommendations to county officers.  Local issues can cover a wide range as shown below.

Also, GBC are currently developing policies that allow appropriate planning gains to be obtained from future housing and commercial developments of all sizes, and urgently require input from residents as part of the Stoughton Community Action Plan.  Please see STAG S106 Report for some examples of the types of planning gain that can be obtained.  (An S106 is a legal contract between developers and councils.)

SCA is committed to further work to make Stoughton a better place to live in.  More meetings will be held in the future.

For Traffic matters, please see the Traffic pages.

For Public Safety matters, please see the Public Safety pages.

For a summary of 2003 results:

• Community Plan LSP Page 1 Cover

• Community Plan LSP Page 2 Introduction

• Community Plan LSP Page 3 Community Wellbeing & Housing

• Community Plan LSP Page 4 Business & The Economy

• Community Plan LSP Page 5 Business & The Economy

• Community Plan LSP LSP Page 6 Culture

• Community Plan LSP Page 7 Disadvantaged & Vulnerable

• Community Plan LSP Page 8 Environment & Sustainability

• Community Plan LSP LSP Page 9 Health

• Community Plan LSP Page 10 Public Safety

• Community Plan LSP Page 11 Traffic & Transport

• Community Plan LSP Page 12 Back Page

The Guildford Community Plan is split into 9 different topics, most of which overlap.  These are listed below with the categories used in the Stoughton workshops (in brackets).  The comments below are provided just to give a taster for some of the issues, solutions and actions.

• Traffic and Transport (Traffic)

• Housing (Environment #1)

• Environmental Sustainability (Environment #2)

• Community Wellbeing (Community)

• Public Safety (Public Safety)

• Disadvantaged and Vulnerable People

• Business and Economy

• Culture

• Health

Traffic and Transport (Traffic)

Traffic seems to be the number one problem in Stoughton.   This covers congestion, parking and safety, as well as buses.

A number of improvements to the traffic light systems and road junctions have been made in 2003/4 using planning gain money from QE Park developers. See STAG S106 Report.

Planning gains have also been allocated for widening the Stoughton Road railway bridge to allow pedestrians to cross more safely.  This project is being implemented shortly.

Council's view: The borough is also being smothered by traffic. Surrey has the highest car ownership and most congested roads outside of London and any attempt to meet the demand for car travel is incompatible with the principle of sustainable development. Alternative modes of transport are being promote, though there is much to be done

Housing (Environment #1)

A major concern for most people living in Stoughton is the high density of housing and the pressure this puts on local infrastructure (for example roads, transport, schools, care and health).  It is county and borough planning policy to allow infill of urban areas (see Guildford local plan, Chapter 5). 

Stoughton is one of the most densely populated wards in Guildford.  There is a large variety of different types of housing but high prices mean there is a lack of affordable housing. Despite this need, only new developments of more than 15 houses are required to provide a proportion of affordable housing.    Infill developments are rarely more than 15 houses so there are few new affordable homes being built.  Housing associations also prefer houses to be grouped together for ease of management.

Council's view: Guildford has a serious shortage of affordable housing and this affects the ability of services and businesses to recruit staff. People are living longer, property prices are high and young people cannot find suitable housing in the villages where they grew up. While average household incomes are 37 per cent above the national average, house prices can be 127 per cent higher. Working in partnership Guildford has achieved a success story here, with a £65 million investment programme resulting in hundreds of new affordable homes both in the town and in the rural villages.

A clean environment, good housing, safety, leisure activities and the arts all contribute to the mental and physical health of the community: they complementing the work of the National Health Service. Guildford and Waverley and Woking Area Primary Care Trust are focusing on improving access to health services and moving to a more patient centred approach so that people have choices.

Environmental Sustainability (Environment #2)

In December 2002, Stoughton residents attended a public meeting organised by GBC, local councillors and STAG, to decide which projects were a priority to spend £300,000 of planning gain money from the QE Park development.  See STAG S106 Report and minutes of GBC meeting 15th May 2003.  Dates for when these projects will start have not been determined.

• £20K Community Centre Fund – for fitting out and matched funding.

• £20K Community Action Fund – an initial ‘community pot’ for small scale local projects.  Who manages this yet to be defined.

• £130K Worplesdon Road – greening, planting, paving and street furniture south of Stoughton Road down to Ardmore Way.

• £80K Worplesdon Road – planting, new surface and street furniture along the shopping parade north of Stoughton Road

• £50K Wooden Bridge footbridge across A3 – works to include lighting and improving the approaches.

Council's view: Our consumer society is also the throwaway society, and rubbish, pollution, litter and the maintenance of roads, pavements and parks are serious concerns. Recycling is a high priority and the public is aware of the importance of promoting a way of life that is sustainable form future generations.

Community Wellbeing (Community)

Sense of community keeps coming up as an issue at local meetings.  A history of ward changes, a lack of local community facilities, inconsistent planning and other factors do not seem to foster a feeling of community in Stoughton.  Some residents don't feel they belong.

SCA/SCCP is trying to build a community centre using planning gain from the QE Park development, with the support of local MP, ward and county councillors.  Approx 390sqm is promised which is small compared with other self-supporting community centres.  This project will hopefully be more successful than previous attempts over the past 20 years.  Please see the SCCP page for details of how you can help.

Public Safety (Public Safety)

Crime is low in Stoughton as it is in other parts of Guildford and Surrey.  However some residents still feel afraid to venture out and are intimidated by others.  Vandalism is a problem.  Road safety is an issue too.

Street lighting is an ongoing problem in QE Park which the developers have not resolved despite claiming all lights were working as far back as November 2003.

Surrey County Council (SCC) have a budget to replace all street lighting in Surrey with modern 'white' lights, and have an additional budget for new lights.  SCC are have asked Stoughton residents for details of specific locations where new lights are required.

Disadvantaged and Vulnerable People

There are a number of organisations operating in Stoughton.  Lack of local community facilities other than churches mean that residents have to travel out of the area, often relying on others for transport.

There is no direct bus link from Stoughton to the Spectrum leisure complex.

Stoughton Youth and Community Centre on Stoughton Recreation ground (off Worplesdon Rd) provides some facilities for a youth club and the University of the Third Age (U3A).  Local churches provide some good facilities.

There are some after school clubs.  There is a lack of affordable after-school care.

Council's view: Ensuring that benefits are accessible to all, regardless of disadvantage or vulnerability, is a guiding principal driving the Community Plan. It embraces diversity and equality of opportunity, involvement, rural issues, accessibility and community facilities.

Business and Economy

There are many small businesses in the SCA area.  It is hoped that the office development in QE Park will be successful.

SCA hopes that local businesses, shops etc. will group together and elect representatives to stand on the SCA committee.  These groups must be non-profit making and support the (charitable) objects of the SCA (see constitution).

Council's view: Although the public perception of Guildford's economy is that overheating is the serious threat, the business community knows that with the global downturn of economic growth. Guildford is actually feeling the chill. Its concern is that people should understand the links between unemployment and deprivation and that a strong economy feeds money into the community. Businesses in Guildford pay almost £60 million in business rates every year, which is used by Government to help fund council spending.

Business supports the arts and sport and many of the cultural events in Guildford would not go ahead without its help. This is mutually beneficial because Guildford's role as regional centre for leisure and culture impacts on economic development. It is also important for everything from quality of life to crime prevention, social inclusion, healthy living and lifelong learning.

Culture

Comments anyone?

Health

The SCA area does not have any health facilities within its boundaries which is surprising for an area so densely populated. 

The local Primary Care Trust (PCT) was unable to fund the establishment of a new doctors surgery in QE Park and existing practices could not afford to move either or required larger premises to make the move worthwhile.  The 'mixed-use' building in QE Park commercial area was originally 627sqm and ear-marked for a surgery, but may now house the community centre and apartments instead.

The SCA area hosts at least two veterinary practices!