Guildford Cathedral, Surrey

Our proposed new neighbourhood will provide much-needed, high-quality new homes to the area – of a mix of tenures including 40% affordable. As part of our plans, the community will enjoy an attractive landscaped neighbourhood with improved sustainable connections between Onslow Village, where the site is located, and the Guildford town centre (minimising the impact on traffic in the town centre’s busy gyratory system). 

Working in partnership 

We’re working closely with the team from Guildford Cathedral to bring forward our proposals. In addition to providing new homes for the community, the development will also help raise vital funds for the future upkeep of the Grade II* Listed Cathedral, safeguarding the endangered heritage of this Guildford landmark.   

Specialist contractor Drew Smith has been appointed as the main contractor to deliver the development.  

Community engagement so far 

We’ve worked in collaboration with the community, council, stakeholders and influencers to ensure the development’s design complements and benefits the local area.  

• We first met the public and community stakeholder groups in November 2019 for a community planning day. We heard people’s ideas for a new development and what was important to them.
• We met with people again in January 2020 to report on the comments we’d received and how we’d be using them in our plans.
• We met with some community groups in May 2020, in a series of virtual workshops, to explore some key issues further and report on the proposals.
• We hosted a public webinar in September 2021 to share our updated plans and show people how their ideas helped us.

We've been working hard to progress our plans based on the feedback received by the public, our community stakeholders, and our statutory consultants, and we're pleased with our current proposals.

We hosted a public webinar in September 2021 to share our updated proposals with the community and show how their ideas have shaped our plans. The public event provided an opportunity for people to find out how the delivery partners have addressed key themes and issues raised throughout the community engagement process ahead of planning submission. The webinar was hosted by us and Guildford Cathedral along with architects JTP and other specialist consultants. If you weren't able to join the webinar you can watch the recording here. 

We held another public webinar March 2023 to continue to share our proposals and feedback from previous consulatation and webinars.  

What are we delivering?

Our proposals have been shaped by the extensive feedback we’ve received from the people who live, work, and visit in Guildford. Their ideas and comments have influenced our most recent plans, submitted to Guildford Borough Council in December 2022, and thanks to the community we are delivering:

• 40% affordable housing. 13 of the 124 homes will be owned by Guildford Cathedral and used by its key worker staff, replacing existing homes on the site which are currently used for this purpose. Of the remaining 111 homes, 40% will be designated as affordable housing and will comprise a mix of affordable rent and shared ownership, all managed by VIVID.
• A fully gas-free development. Exhaust air heat pumps will be used in the apartments and air source heat pumps in the houses. 330 PV panels will also be provided across the development. The total reduction in carbon emissions exceeds 58% across the site (with a planning requirement of a 20% reduction).
• Through a Section 106 agreement with the Council, VIVID will make financial contributions towards local infrastructure and community services including early years, primary and secondary education, primary care as well as roads and protected green spaces – on site or elsewhere.
• Improved open space that is better maintained and made accessible for the community to enjoy, including spaces for rest, play and community interaction, from private and communal gardens through to orchards, open meadows, woodland play, and formal landscaping. A net gain in biodiversity is supported by green roofs, tree planting, enriched meadows, woodland, under-storey planting, habitat features and management of existing vegetation.
• Better flood mitigation that will actively decrease surface water flooding risk for homes nearby. New drainage will be designed to intercept the surface flows which run off the sloping site.  The addition of dew ponds as sustainable drainage systems at the bottom of the Southern Approach will also support biodiversity.
• Homes designed to complement their setting and to complement Guildford, sensitive to its surroundings. The buildings will integrate into the hillside and landscape to respect views to and from the Cathedral. The Cathedral will continue to be the dominant feature in the landscape.
• Pedestrian and cycle connections across the site improved to tie in with Guildford’s Sustainable Movement Corridor and create better integration between the Cathedral and wider community. VIVID is also working with the Council and Surrey University to deliver ambitions for access between the Cathedral and Yorkies Bridge across University land.

Delivering homes here will raise vital funds for the upkeep of the Grade II* Listed Cathedral. 

Next steps 

We submitted an amended planning application in December 2022. You can track its progress on Guildford Borough Council’s website (REFERENCE 21/P/02333) and show your support.

Check back to this page for updates. 

Contact us 

Find out more by emailing our communications team at Property House Marketing: info@housegroup.co.uk or phoning 01483 561119.