BRTA Guildford Forum – Saturday 14 September 2024 2pm lunch – 3-5pm business

BRTA  Guildford Forum – Saturday 14 September 2024 2pm lunch – 3-5pm business

Venue: The Rodboro Buildings, 1–10 Bridge Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4RY
Website: https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/surrey/the-rodboro-buildings-guildford Phone: 01483 306366 Email address: simon4barber@gmail.com Phone(landline): 020-8940-4399 Phone (mobile): 07522-374740
1.                 Appointment of a chair (David J. Start or David Ferguson)
2.                 Apologies for absence
3.                 Introductions – who are you, your name and fill in attendance list if a visitor
4.                 Guildford-Cranleigh-Horsham rail reopening goal (explain)
a.      Cranleigh leafleting
b.      Donations/pledges for more flyers to be printed
c.       Offers of volunteers to help with David and Simon leafleting and avoiding duplication.
d.      Getting councils and MPs on board
5.                 Dunsfold Oil – who, what, why and how (introduction) and how the Guildford-Horsham rail link can help: reduced demand for oil, rail choice to congestion and impact of associated development without a new local modern rail link?
6.                 Arundel Curve, plan, progress and who will do what.
7.                 Horsham-Shoreham: Protecting remaining route, getting councils/MPs on board.
8.                 Wey & Arun Canal threat – any news.
9.                 Heathrow Southern Railway with east and west curves to communicate with them and invite to meetings.
10.            North Downs Line (Reading-Guildford-Redhill/Gatwick Airport-Tonbridge): Electrification ‘third rail’ and Thameslink from East Croydon to Guildford at least and Gatwick Airport-Tonbridge avoiding Redhill
11.            New stations - Guildford Royal Hospital (Barn Park) and new County Hall (Merrow)
12.            Guildford Town Centre: How to make pedestrian friendly. Getting from Station to Portsmouth Road is hazardous.
13.            Any Other Business

14.            Date, Time and Place of Next Meeting (February 

URC Room, Portsmouth Road Saturday – with invited speaker/s 

Dunsfold Oil campaign and/or Heathrow Southern Rail or both. 

12 Noon lunch at Wetherspoons,

Guildford Mutterings and Stirrings? Guildford Forum Reflections:
Minutes of BRTA Guildford Forum held on Saturday 14^th September 2024 at The Rodboro Buildings, 1 Bridge Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4RY. Ed. Please note that BRTA facilitates forums to bring people together, to consider more in-depth issues and recruit more active members and volunteers. They are not officiating to inform BRTA policy per se.
 
1. Present: Simon Barber and David Ferguson (BRTA), Trevor Jones (Railfuture), Kathy Smyth (Waverley Friends of the Earth), Richard Porter (Marlow-Maidenhead Rail Users Association).
2. Apologies for Absence: Richard Pill, David Start, Leonard Lean, Adrian Chandler (BRTA), Robin Hirsch and Rob Cooke (Guildford Rail Users Group), Jeremy Hunt (MP Waverley), Cllr. Andrew Hornsby-Smith (Reading), Cllr. Stephen Hines (Guildford), Alistair Atkinson (Guildford Environmental Forum), Voluntary Action South-West Surrey, Conway Castle-Knight.
3. Guildford-Cranleigh-Horsham
   a) We agree that Cranleigh town should have most support, and we should get Councils and MPs on board. We must target green organisations/groups in Cranleigh. Ed. People need to put their money where their mouths are! We need £100 to do more Cranleigh flyer questionnaire leafleting to cover the whole town. Donate to enable more please.
    b) Another thing that we should target is the Onslow Estates, which will be via Clandon Estates Office. The estate has a house at Knowle Park in Cranleigh. Ed. Why was no-one named to do this (delegation)?
   c) More flyers we will discuss at our forthcoming EC meeting. Ed. Yes, but unless more money beit membership or donations or both, nothing can be forth-coming.
4. Dunsfold: The Dunsford Oil has ground to a halt, but the new housing development will be in the long-term. However, the Aerodrome cannot be sold since the land belongs to Trinity College, Cambridge. Ed. Laudable, but our wish is to recruit Dunsfold activists to help with the rail link reopening.
5. Arundel Curve:  We prefer the curve to be at Barnham, since Ford is close to HM Prison. Ed. Someone needs to look at the lie of the land, take photos, do diagrams and report to EC.
6.  New Stations – Merrow (County Hall) – to be named Guildford East. Ed. Laudable, but must have new members and activists for more projects to be taken on board.
This is close to a housing estate dating from the 1950s, and apart from the new Surrey County Hall there will also be a new development at Gosden Hill Farm with woodland space, plus new housing and schools which will lie just north of the Guildford New Line via Effingham Junction. Ed. Unless local demand translates to BRTA Membership recruitment, it is a distraction.
1.     Guildford Town Centre: A pedestrian bridge over the River Wey has been modernised close to the Crown Court and the Odeon Cinema. Ed. Laudable, but needs local people to join and be the answer.
ED. BRTA needs more money to print more flyers for Cranleigh. We need more members generally and more active volunteers who share the vision without hesitation, deviation or repetition!

All enquiries, comments or feedback via richard.brta@gmail.com. 

People who join/are members and donate will be given priority!