Delayed Opening of Tunsgate Quarter Brings Relief and Hope in Equal Measure

Published on: 15 Mar, 2018
Updated on: 15 Mar, 2018

The interior of Tunsgate Quarter – opened today

By Alice Fowler

It’s been a long time coming, but Guildford’s new Tunsgate Quarter is finally open.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place this morning (March 15, 2018), attended by Mayor of Guildford, Nigel Manning and the leader of Guildford Borough Council, Paul Spooner, as well as representatives from developer Queensberry.

Nearby traders, who have suffered a dip in their revenues, expressed relief while the council leader hoped the development would help maintain Guildford’s position as a premier retail centre.

By lunchtime, the town’s new retail destination was bustling with shoppers, keen to visit upmarket brands such as furnishing stores OKA and Loaf, The White Company, Cath Kidston, lululemon and make up retailer Bobbi Brown.

“You could call them upmarket, or extremely strong brands,” said Council Leader Paul Spooner. “This is a very important retail area for the town and will help ensure Guildford remains a key regional shopping destination.”

Only the remaining barriers spoil the view of the new Oka frontage from Tunsgate

The scaffolding which has long shrouded the development has gone, revealing an exterior of brick and gleaming Portland stone. Inside shoppers will find a central courtyard, flooded with natural light. While Hampshire-based architects Lyons+Sleeman+Hoare have created a modern, airy feel, there are also references to Guildford’s cloth-making past and the Art Deco cinema that once stood on the site.

The design includes a reflection of the art deco
cinema that once stood on the site.

“It took us a little while to decide on the vision,” says Stuart Harris, commercial director and co-founder of developer Queensberry. “What was important to us was to connect the High Street, Tunsgate and Castle Street, while also celebrating the castle itself.”

Some 85% of the development is now let, with new signings Seasalt, the Cornwall-based clothing brand, and Cosy Club, a quirky British restaurateur, announced this week. Three small shop units and two restaurants remain unlet.

“We could let those tomorrow, but we want the right people,” says Stuart Harris. “I’m certain that by the end of the year it will be fully let.”

While some retailers, such as The White Company and Cath Kidston are moving from existing premises in the town, others have been drawn in by the new development.

A board showing the current businesses
signed up for the Tungate Quarter.

“We’ve been really interested in Guildford for a long time,” says brand director of OKA, Mirry Christie. “When this came up it was an obvious opportunity.”

Spread over two floors and two mezzanines, this is OKA’s biggest store outside London. It offers an interior design service, dedicated lighting department and a faux flower florist.

Tunsgate Quarter’s other key signing, The Ivy restaurant, is due to open in early April. Vietnamese street food restaurant Pho will follow in May and Cosy Club in June.

Also in May, Nespresso will open a “boutique” concept store offering coffee masterclasses.

The resurfacing of Tunsgate with granite
setts is due to be completed in June.

While the centre is officially open, men in hard hats are still in evidence, with drilling audible on opening day. Outside a council-funded project to lay setts on Tunsgate continues. It is due to be completed in June.

“We had an ambitious 15-month programme – possibly too ambitious,” conceded Stuart Harris. “As it is, we’ve delivered in 18 months. What we hadn’t allowed for was the amount of asbestos we found in the old scheme.”

Businesses close by, who have seen trade fall during construction work, are looking forward to the centre being open.

“Our shoppers and wonderful volunteers have put up with a lot of noise and disruption,” says Ruth Shaw, area manager retail for children’s hospice charity, Shooting Star Chase.

“It’s been a long time but it should bring a much-needed boost to our trade. We’re a close community here and it should benefit everyone.”

View from the Tunsgate Quarter gallery that faces Guildford High Street

On Saturday (March 17) visitors will be treated to live music from the Thirties to the Fifties from Vintage Miss Rae, and singing from the Guildford Theatre Academy.

On Sunday lululemon will host Guildford’s largest yoga class in the atrium, while Bobbi Brown will offer make up tutorials throughout the weekend.

More special events will take place over the coming months as further shops and restaurants open.

Responses to Delayed Opening of Tunsgate Quarter Brings Relief and Hope in Equal Measure

Linda Cooper Reply

March 16, 2018 at 11:04 am

Such a shame that they could not have used the opportunity to match the building to it’s surroundings. Also I would rather Wilko than Oka!
Russell Morris Reply

March 18, 2018 at 10:54 am

Agree about Wilko. Guildford needs more market town type shopping rather than a Bond Street.
M Granshaw Reply

March 20, 2018 at 9:32 am

Three things stand out for me:

Firstly, the continuing failure of Guildford Borough Council and ourselves, the residents who elect it, to protect our town’s heritage. Yes, if you stand in the middle of the High Street the panorama is easy on the eye, although only if you sweep your view quickly.

But then there is North Street, The Friary and now this unnecessary and ugly further development.

Looking back in time there are numerous examples of poor planning grants – Plummer Roddis (now Debenhams) and the Police Station and Law Courts area to name but two. Compare this to Godalming or Farnham whose centres are better preserved and have far less homogeneous offerings. And we’ve now got the new station to look forward to.

Secondly, the high rates and rent arrangements, currently in force, preclude anything but soulless multiples and probably also encourage these characterless monoliths inside which you lose all sense of location.

Experience Guildford’s Amanda Masters said, “The old structure was a barrier between the castle and the town. We had to put up signs showing the way to the castle, but this will open up the structure encouraging movement through it.”

Well, I walked through on Saturday and it was exactly the same – ramped pathway up and door out the back. Indeed for those businesses in Tunsgate, there’s no visible direct exit from the ground floor as there previously was. They can’t have you missing the new first floor units, can they?

Unlike previously, there’s not a shop that remotely interests me. Other towns are more pro-active in achieving a balance so why not Guildford? Maybe a sliding scale for business rates: say 50% reduction for a single outlet business; 25% for less than four outlets; 0% for less than 10; +25% for more than 50 outlets; +50% for more than a 100.

Whatever scale and impact on landlords that is deemed to slant in favour of small businesses whilst maintaining overall levels of income. There must be a way, if there’s a will, of achieving a better balance of shops and not by some ridiculous container rental.

Thirdly, housing. At a drinks reception not so long ago a local surveyor took great pleasure in telling me how the social housing requirement had been circumvented with the G-Live. At Tunsgate we had the original tenants discovering that their tenure was not perhaps as secure as they had thought. It seems anomalous to me that we’re told that wealthy Russians (amongst others) invest in property in the UK because, alongside being a good investment, our land law ownership legislation can be relied upon. Sadly, its a disgrace that security of tenure for tenants is nowhere near as reliable and indeed is allowed to just diminish year on year. In Tunsgate, having ejected everyone, 12 flats become 10 apartments. I can’t see prices but suspect none will be under £500,000.

Finally, a favourite of mine, the delightful Continental Café was consigned to the scrap-heap allegedly for not being upmarket enough. It’s replaced by one of Richard Caring’s Caprice Holdings ‘Ivy’. It seems an apposite name as its spreading like its horticultural namesake and currently has 24 grills and brasseries in or coming to the UK and not a Danish pastry in sight!
C Nicholls Reply

March 20, 2018 at 2:46 pm

The old building was nicer in appearance, it felt much lighter and less closed in. Why the need to remove access to the Original Tunsgate? (removal of steps)? Plus there were more useful shops.

The actual passageway up to the square is much drabber than before and just looks like any other commercial/council/utility building. Is it even finished? It looks like it has just been sanded down and left.

I have been, I have seen, I didn’t see anything worth returning for.
- John Robinson Reply
  
  March 22, 2018 at 3:33 pm
  
  Absolutely agree with your comments C. Nicholls.
  
  As a bloke in my mid 50s, where is the appeal? We have three furniture shops (wow….) who all love the overused term ‘quintessential’, a make up shop, Cath Kidston and some obscure Canadian sports clothing place (when I can already buy my favourite Nike elsewhere), plus another one of The Ivy restaurant chain.
  
  Is that what we’ve been waiting all this time for? The actual interior looks like any other shopping mall, in any other city/town. Sorry to be negative, but it’s hardly new, is it?