Fifth Annual Surrey Development Forum Conference
Last week, the Surrey Development Forum held its fifth Annual Conference in Woking, welcoming well over 100 delegates, including local MPs, council leaders and specialists from across the industry.
Delegates were welcomed to Woking by local MP Will Forster, who set out his ambitions for the town and the development industry. For him, the needs of children in temporary accommodation and the quality of accommodation are both paramount.
He highlighted the tragic fact that over the last five years, 72 children have died with the quality of accommodation listed on their death certificate, and that this demands more, high quality housing be built, and improvements to existing stock.
The roadblocks ahead in Woking are around viability, according to Forster. With 2,500 homes in the town centre already given planning consent, but not being built as viability on brownfield sites are challenged by construction costs driven by global events.
Delegates were also joined by members of the Surrey Youth Cabinet and one of the county’s Members of Youth Parliament on a panel discussion about the need for housing in Surrey. Both of these speakers made a powerful case for housing affordability – that neither believe they will be able to afford a home in the county they grew up in – and the role of development in improving quality of life for young people, such as provision of ‘third spaces’ outside of work and home.
Guildford’s MP and Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Local Government Zöe Franklin also joined the conference with an update on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Surrey. Franklin sees LGR as financially driven, but she recognised that a unitary authority would mean less ambiguity for residents and businesses around decision making.
Subject to respect to Surrey’s heritage and landscape, she said she is in favour of new housing, although the infrastructure which is promised all too often does not materialise.
The main story of the day was around LGR and the recent news that Surrey will get two new councils to replace all existing districts, boroughs and the county. This will see significant change for councillors, officers, businesses and residents. In Woking, the number of councillors will be reduced to only 14 as part of the wider West Surrey Council.
To guide delegates through the change, the SDF assembled a panel of experts. From outside Surrey, Baroness Scott, led Wiltshire through unitarisation, spoke about her experience alongside the Leader of Woking Borough Council, Cllr Anne-Marie Barker, and Cabinet Member for Environment on Surrey County Council, Cllr Marisa Heath. A key theme from the panel was how to keep local government local while councils more than quadruple in size – keep an eye out for a ‘Community Board’ near you.
In the afternoon, a big ticket item on the SDF agenda was the call to action from Nick Kilby, who spoke to delegates on the 165,000 Reasons to Build campaign. This year, there are now 169,000 children growing up without a permanent home in temporary accommodation.
This accommodation can lack the space to run around, play or even complete their homework, and therefore can have a catastrophic impact on health and development. It’s an issue easily fixed if enough homes can be delivered, so delegates were invited to join the campaign to drive that number downwards over the coming years.
As ever, the Surrey Development Forum Annual Conference marks the Forum calendar drawing to a close for the year, with just one further meeting to go. We therefore look forward to the big plans the Forum has for 2026, when major change in Surrey local government begins with the first elections to East Surrey and West Surrey unitary councils, which will operate as shadow authorities for 12 months.
There’s still time to get involved, so if you are interested in being part of the conversation about Surrey’s future, please get in touch about membership.
