Revised depot proposals

The location and purpose of the depot remain unchanged. As before, the new depot replaces and expands the existing council depot which is located just north of the bridge of Woking Road, over the River Wey.

What changes are being proposed?

• We are reducing the size of the multi-storey car park by 2,365 sqm. This will create a building that is more compact and better proportioned, and greatly reduce the visual impact of the structure when viewed over the eastern tree line from the direction of the River Wey. There will still be sufficient space to ensure that any additional future parking demand can be accommodated.

• We are relocating the multi-storey car park to the north-west corner of the site, further from the site's eastern boundary. This will significantly improve the local landscape, allowing the structure to sit more comfortably in context with the large-scale buildings of the surrounding industrial estate.

• A revised colour palette will help soften the overall appearance of the development.

• The revised proposals include an increase in soft landscaping, with particular focus on areas that provide the maximum benefit in terms of ecology and visual appearance.

• We have made changes to the internal uses of the new depot building (e.g. removing office and conference facilities).

Register for updates

The new planning application will be submitted to Guildford Borough Council in February 2024. If you would like to be notified when the application is live and comment on the new proposals, you can:

• Email us at consultations@chessengage.com, or
• Register for updates by submitting your email address below.

We will notify you when the application is live and send you a link to the application documents so you can view and make comments on the proposals.

Background

The new depot facility brings together a range of the council's departments and services onto one site, including waste services, street scenes, parks, housing repairs and supporting admin teams. The new depot will act as a vital piece of infrastructure for the delivery of basic services to the wider community.

The new depot will provide bespoke, state-of-the-art facilities for the departments and services that will be relocated there. It will provide a major upgrade in the quality of the facilities for staff, and the delivery of council services to the local community. The new facilities will also provide benefits in terms of environmental performance and reduced maintenance costs when compared with the existing depot buildings. 

The decision notice for the previous permission can be found here.

A cleaner future

The new depot will contribute to the council's long-term strategy to become a net zero borough by 2030. It has been designed using a 'fabric first' approach which maximises the buildings' performance to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and reduce ongoing maintenance costs.

Approximate project timeline