Protective measures in place to maintain historic fabric of Guildford High Street
Case reference FOI2025/02103
Received 17 November 2025
Published 9 December 2025
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request information on the protective measures currently in place to maintain the historic fabric of Guildford High Street.
I would also like to request details of any measures taken to protect the historic fabric of the High Street between 1 January 2024 and 14 November 2025.
In addition, please provide information on any protective measures in place for adjacent areas, including Castle Hill and the Castle Grounds.
Please also confirm which teams or officers within Guildford Borough Council are responsible for implementing and overseeing these measures.
Response
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please find the answers to your queries below.
The Town Centre (which includes the High Street, the Castle and the Castle Grounds) is a designated conservation area and protecting their special heritage and landscape is a core theme of our Local Plan, which has been in place since 2003.
Further information regarding the protective measures in place to preserve the heritage of our High Street and the Castle Grounds can be found via the following websites:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/conservation
(In particular, please refer to the Conservation Area Appraisal and Character Maps for the Town Centre, via the above link).
Further information regarding our historic environment can also be found here:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/article/25520/Historic-environment-information
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/learningandeducation
Our Local Plan for the period 2015 to 2034 also contains details of our key strategies for how we intend to preserve the area’s heritage:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/localplan
You can also find details of all our Local Plans dating from 2003 via the following link:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/guildfordlocalplan
There have also been improvements made to the High Street in recent years and you can find out more about these, and how we ensured that they enhanced the town’s character, via the following link:
As such, the information you require can be found from publicly available sources and consequentially under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible.
I can confirm that we also have a Design and Conservation Officer, who works closely with our Planning Department to ensure that we continue to protect the fabric of not only the High Street and the Castle Grounds, but also of the wider surrounding conservation areas.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Team
Guildford Borough Council
Documents
This is Guildford Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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