St Edward – a joint venture between The Berkeley Group and M&G Real Estate – has submitted its planning application for the landmark regeneration of the underutilised brownfield North Street site in the centre of Guildford, known locally as The Friary Quarter. The submission of the application is an exciting step forward to deliver a contemporary new neighbourhood of 473 highly sustainable new homes in buildings ranging from four to 14 storeys, and a mix of new ground floor commercial and community spaces including a medical centre.
The designs incorporate four high quality new areas of landscaped public realm (1.6 acres) for the town, including a new town square. St Edward has committed to delivering the pedestrianisation of North Street as part of the plans, with new paving and surface treatments, new planting and trees and a playable water feature for children to enjoy. This historic shopping street, which is currently dominated by vehicles, will be transformed into a safer pedestrian and cycle friendly space, with a 10% improvement in air quality.
A bespoke community plan, with regular events, will be put in place by St Edward to establish and maintain a thriving neighbourhood, while permanent jobs for local people will be created alongside construction apprenticeship and training opportunities.
St Edward’s proposals also include a striking new bus interchange to replace the tired and unwelcoming existing facility, supporting the Government’s ‘Bus Back Better’ initiative. The new designs provide a welcoming, well lit, easy to use and safe space with a bold contemporary design, new signage, new technology and a revised entrance and exit from the north, key to the pedestrianisation of North Street.
Key sustainability benefits of the scheme:
- 201% biodiversity net gain
- 120 new trees planted, including 15 different species
- 72% reduction in CO2 emissions
- Gas free and innovative Individual Exhaust Air Heat Pumps
- 100% of the parking spaces have electric vehicle charging points
- Removing over 300 vehicles per peak hour from North Street resulting in a minimum of 10% improvement to air quality along North Street
- Bird and bat boxes incorporated to support nature recovery
- Bee bricks to encourage bee nesting and nectar production
- Electric car club with three cars
- Flowering lawns on amenity grassland
- 2,400 sqm of green and brown roofs
- Recycle at least 95% of waste produced on site annually
- Sustainably sourced construction materials
Jack Nicholson, Land & Development Director, St Edward, said: “After nearly three years of design development, and extensive stakeholder and community engagement, St Edward is extremely proud of the final scheme which will transform this long derelict site into a contemporary new neighbourhood. We believe this development will become a beautiful addition to Guildford, delivering new homes to bring investment into the town, as well as creating beautiful spaces for the whole community to meet, eat, relax, gather and play. The suite of infrastructure improvements offers huge benefits to the community and will be transformational to the wider area.”
St Edward’s extensive community engagement culminated in a series of face-to-face exhibition events hosted on site in August 2022.
The planning application is expected to be considered by Guildford Borough Council (GBC) in November 2022, with construction commencing in Summer 2023.
