George Potter and Jane Tyson are our borough councillors for Burpham. George is also a county councillor. We hold drop-ins for residents from 10am to 11.30am on the first Saturday of every month at Burpham Community Cafe in Sutherland Memorial Park.

Bin collection dates

The borough council has just published its bin collection dates for 2026. A new calendar can be found online, along with Christmas collection dates, at: www.guildford.gov.uk/bincollectiondays Physical copies are available for collection from Guildford Library or the council offices at Millmead. A copy of the calendar is also included below for you to print out and keep.

Gosden Hill and Planning

Gosden Hill continues to move very slowly and is unlikely to come before the planning committee anytime soon. There remain a number of outstanding objections to the scheme on transport grounds from statutory consultees. In November we attended a meeting organised by the Burpham Community Association (BCA) to discuss the application, and we have passed on residents’ concerns to the planners and to Zöe Franklin MP to raise with bodies like National Highways, Network Rail and the utilities.

We are also continuing to work with the BCA and Burpham Neighbourhood Forum to ensure that any other challenging local planning applications are responded to appropriately. One current example is Barton Place where there are concerns about the parking and bin storage impacts of an additional storey of flats.

Highways and Footpaths

A number of small, but important, improvements are set to take place around Burpham in the next 18 months. Double yellow lines are set to be extended on Burpham Lane opposite the turning for the primary school and on Bowers Farm Drive in order to deal with problem parking. Much delayed double yellows for Weylea Avenue and part of Woodruff Avenue are also scheduled for the coming year.

Glendale Drive is due to have major repairs to the road surface, at long last, and patching repairs are planned for Darfield Road. The George Abbot underpass, which was heroically cleaned by residents at the end of November, is due to be fully resurfaced in the Easter holidays 2026, and Network Rail are going to be looking at repairs to the drains.

Finally, the county council is also set to consult with residents on creating a new 20mph zone around George Abbot school in 2026/27.

A new council for West Surrey

The government has announced their decision on the future of local government in Surrey. From 1st April 2027 Burpham, along with the rest of Guildford, will be part of a new ‘West Surrey Council’ which will replace the current borough council and the county council.

A particular concern is that the West Surrey Council is set to inherit almost £5 billion of debt from the other current councils within the area, whereas East Surrey Council will inherit around £0.5 billion. This debt will doubtless put pressure on funding for local services and will mean pressure on the new council to raise council tax and other charges.

Elections to West Surrey Council will be held in May 2026, so that councillors have a year to set up the new council before it takes over providing services. In these elections Burpham and Merrow will be combined to elect 2 councillors, down from the 6 we have currently.

A town/parish council for Guildford

At time of writing we are set to attend a full council meeting in the next few days where councillors will be asked to approve a final public consultation on creating a new Guildford Parish Council for the entirety of the town of Guildford, including Burpham and Merrow.

The parish council will be able to adopt ‘town’ status once it has been created, and will preserve the centuries-old mayoralty of Guildford. It will also take over the management of allotments and be legally entitled to represent the town in response to planning applications.

In time it may also be able to take over buildings and services from West Surrey Council, if that is what residents choose to vote for in parish council elections.

Burpham Court Farm Nature Reserve

By the time you read this the borough council’s new nature reserve at Burpham Court Farm, which can be accessed from Clay Lane, should be open. This includes 113 acres of protected greenspace, restored wildlife habitat, and a disabled-accessible circular walking route. Why not come see it for yourself in January!