Homes project poses financial risk to council

Funding a 1,650-home development project is still "the biggest financial risk" to a Surrey council as it tries to fill an ever-growing gap in its budget, the authority's chief financial officer says.

The Weyside Urban Village (WUV) scheme, led by Guildford Borough Council, could see hundreds of new homes, community buildings, employment space and improved infrastructure built.

The £453m project was given outline planning permission in October 2021, but has seen its potential deficit rise from £50m in May 2024, and will have increased with inflation since then.

Officers have now outlined various options to plug the funding black hole, with a full decision to be made by the end of July.

The sale of council assets is predicted to bring in £20m, while the intended new leisure contract for the Spectrum, Lido and Ash Manor is also hoped to generate funds for WUV.

The council's chief financial officer Richard Bates told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the project is "clearly the biggest risk" and still going to be a large financial risk for the council for probably the next 10 years.

"We're still going to have to borrow another £180m to get us from A to B," said Mr Bates. He explained the project still has to deal with ongoing inflation, soaring construction costs as well as land and house prices.

But he added: "We've got to the stage where we have enough things to take to the council that will help us mitigate the risk of the project as it currently stands."

The aim is to squash the deficit to zero before local government reorganisation takes into effect and Guildford council is merged into a mega authority in 2026-27.

If Guildford does not cover the gap, there will be an annual impact on the new council's budget and it could have to cut services.

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