Guildford has an incredibly vibrant contemporary music culture. I'm not talking about the touring bands that drop in at G-Live but the multitude of unsung, un-famous musicians and writers that grace the local music scene who will knock your socks off any night of the week for free. So it's a shame that the local planners are attempting to shut down the music at the fabulous Star Inn, one of the premium venues for this magic. It's a sorry tale of residential development v business and culture - check out the local press for details https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/guildfords-star-inn-killed-music-15290969
Leaving aside the ineptitude of Guildford’s elected officials (to put it generously) their actions show, when push comes to shove, the town’s planning policy favours residential development over business or culture no matter what they may say in public. Guildford's music culture should be protected and nurtured not shut down, it's a huge asset to the town and one of the key reasons people want to buy the stupidly expensive town centre flats in the first place. If Liverpool closed the Cavern Club we’d think they were mad. That Guildford’s planners might be mad is not exactly a revelation, evidently they’re only ‘following due process’ but what is the process and what liability attaches to the developer? If a developer builds on a flood plain despite warnings of the consequences and then the river floods, who is to blame? Oh, wait a minute, they did! I wonder if they’ve taken out an injunction against the River Wey as well.
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