GBC Housing Plan Promises ‘A Vibrant Urban Neighbourhood’ Near Town Centre

Published on: 24 Jul, 2024
Updated on: 24 Jul, 2024

Guildford Borough Council has announced a major new partnership with the Wates Group to build up to 248 homes on a car park site near Guildford town centre, including a commitment to 40 per cent affordable housing.

The Guildford Park Road development is part of a wider programme for regeneration of sites owned by GBC.

The £86 million project will transform the car park site into “a vibrant urban neighbourhood”, said the council.

The site is a 12-minute walk to the town centre via a pedestrian bridge and an eight-minute walk to Guildford railway station. The development will be served by regular bus services and pedestrian routes.

The council is committing up to £39.7 million from its Housing Revenue Account to buy the affordable housing. This housing will be added to the 5,000 council homes it already owns and manages.

The initial proposals include 98 new affordable rent and shared ownership homes. GBC said the scheme would deliver a balanced mix of one, two, and three-bedroom homes, with some town houses. Before finalising the design and seeking planning permission, extensive public and stakeholder consultation will take place, says the council.

The development will be designed to meet and exceed Future Homes Standards, achieving approximately a 90% reduction in carbon emissions. The council said the scheme would also enhance and improve the natural habitat to achieve a 30% Biodiversity Net Gain.

GBC said that Wates, a family-owned development, building, and property maintenance company, would also be delivering a social value programme valued at around £11 million. This would include creating 40 new jobs for local people alongside offering extensive training and work opportunities.

For the community, Wates said it had launched a variety of programmes benefiting all age groups, including support for local community organisations, public art projects, literacy initiatives, foodbank support and volunteering campaigns.

Cllr Julia McShane

Council Leader Julia McShane (Lib Dem, Westborough), and lead councillor for Housing, said: “I’m passionate about making Guildford an inclusive place to live – a town where local people can find homes that meet their needs, at a price they can afford.

“This new neighbourhood will include a mix of new council homes for rent and affordable homes to buy. We’ll be focusing on creating a high-quality, sustainable development where people are proud to live.

“I’m pleased that we’re appointing Wates Group as our development partner. The company has shown that it shares our values and has the expertise to complete this development to a high standard.”

Lee Bushell, Wates’ Regional Director, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Guildford Borough Council to deliver much-needed affordable homes at the heart of the town centre. The development exemplifies our commitment to creating vibrant communities and providing quality homes in prime locations. Additionally, as a Surrey-headquartered business, it has been incredibly rewarding to support the local community and uplift the Guildford economy.”

Responses to GBC Housing Plan Promises ‘A Vibrant Urban Neighbourhood’ Near Town Centre

Alan Judge Reply

July 24, 2024 at 3:53 pm

I’m confused.

This article is about the old car park site on Guildford Park Avenue but has photos referring to something completely different on Applegarth Avenue along with quotes at the end.

Editor’s response: Apologies, the article has now been corrected.
George Potter Reply

July 24, 2024 at 4:05 pm

What on earth do planning applications for HMOs in Westborough have to do with a housing scheme in Onslow?

I appreciate journalists try to combine stories wherever possible to save time, but the article above doesn’t even make sense. It just lurches straight from talking about the Guildford Park Road scheme to a comment about HMOs in Applegarth, and the photos used in the article are all to do with Applegarth rather than the topic the article headline is about.

George Potter is a Lib Dem borough councillor for Burpham.

Editor’s response: Apologies, the article has now been corrected.
Peta Malthouse Reply

July 24, 2024 at 6:55 pm

Wonderful news. I hope due consideration will be given to Guildfordians who are also key workers. Our town needs its public servants
- John Perkins Reply
  
  July 25, 2024 at 3:19 pm
  
  Not public servants, but independent and skilled artisans.
David Smith Reply

July 25, 2024 at 9:48 am

This is good news and obviously consultation is required but haven’t we had extensive consultation on the site multiple times? Could GBC perhaps recycle some of this to move this much needed housing along sooner?
S Collins Reply

July 25, 2024 at 3:15 pm

So it won’t just be buy-to-let for students going to the university next door then?
Maybe we could get that in writing.
Alan Judge Reply

July 25, 2024 at 3:36 pm

The ironic thing about the original, article before correction, is that it shows the flaw in the right to buy scheme.

The original dwellings on Applegarth Avenuewere council houses that were bought under the right to buy, taking them out of the council house portfolio. A developer later buys them all and plans to convert them into student accommodation – taking them out of the general housing bracket completely and dropping some student accommodation in the middle of a residential area.

That hole in the council house portfolio needs to be filled, hence the GPA development.

My house backs onto such a property and the noise has got steadily worse. By time complaints have had an effect, they’ve moved out and the next year of students move in. Rinse and repeat.

Editor’s response: A separate report on Applegarth Avenue has now been published. Apologies again for the confusion. The error was mine fortunately spotted by others on the editorial team who acted quickly to correct.
Sara Tokunaga Reply

July 25, 2024 at 6:50 pm

I would be very interested to know how much the site has already cost GBC. Two rounds of consultations on two different planning applications, various works done on site, full closure and then ongoing partial closure of the car park. Now we hear there will be yet another round of consultations.

This has been going on for years. GBC also seems quite confused about where the town centre is, as Guildford Park Avenue was suddenly included in the town centre for increasing parking revenue purposes, but is further away than this site which is a “12 minute walk from the town centre”. Plus, the site is off Guildford Park Road and is in fact Guildford Park Road Car Park.
S Callanan Reply

July 26, 2024 at 12:58 pm

“The site is a 12-minute walk to the town centre via a pedestrian bridge and an eight-minute walk to Guildford railway station. The development will be served by regular bus services and pedestrian routes.”

The “pedestrian bridge” is presumably Yorkies Bridge which links the university campus with Walnut Tree Close, from which you’d have to walk along the Close to get to the town centre via the new megabucks Walnut Bridge or Bridge Street.

Pedestrians can still (despite the best efforts of South Western Railways/Network Rail) use the station bridge to cross over to Walnut Tree Close from Guildford Park Road and thence via the Walnut Bridge or Bridge Street into the town centre.
Ben Paton Reply

July 26, 2024 at 1:39 pm

The article states that the Council will buy 98 ‘affordable’ dwellings/houses on the site at a price of £39.7 million. That’s an average of some £405,000 each.

Presumably the alternative available to the council was to buy up 1 and 2 bedroom flats around Guildford up to a price of £405k each. The Council could, in addition, have deployed the money it receives from selling off Council houses every year.

Was the alternative approach considered?
H Trevor Jones Reply

August 7, 2024 at 10:06 am

The article says “The development will be served by regular bus services”. As a non-driver resident of nearby Guildford Park Avenue, I naturally welcome good bus services (as well as provision of new housing), but wonder how well bus provision has been thought through.

The local Safeguard bus routes 4 & 5 passing the end of my road mostly every 20min are well used but the 100 park & ride bus over the same road rarely has more than 1 or 2 passengers, so it makes sense that it is to be withdrawn (perhaps it should be merged with 4&5).

The new development on the car park by the railway will presumably be served by the existing frequent Stagecoach bus route 1 serving Surrey Uni, so presumably no extra bus provision will actually be needed.

Editor’s note: This comment was written before notification of the closure of the Onslow Park & Ride.
H Trevor Jones Reply

August 14, 2024 at 9:52 am

When writing my comment of August 7, 2024 at 10:06 am, I was aware of the forthcoming closure of the Onslow Park & Ride, via the following email clip sent to me by a colleague on the Guildford Soc Transport Working Group.