A post war housing estate has been granted approval by Woking Borough Council’s planning.

The goal is to regenerate the 74-acre site in the Woking suburbs into a ‘sustainable, community-focused’ neighbourhood, with the present number of dwellings doubling from 570 to 1,142, half of which will be affordable.

695 homes have detailed consent, and 834 homes have planning permission.

The plans for the development, (named Canalside), put forward by ThamesWey Developments Ltd, owned by Woking Borough Council, are anticipated to include four hectares of outdoor space, (community facilities, public parkland and gardens), as well as; shops, a doctors’ surgery, a nursery, a community centre, a new leisure centre set to include a 25-metre swimming pool and separate teaching pool, a sports hall, studios, a gym, a full-size outdoor 3G football pitch as well as new grass football and rugby pitches.

The planning consultants for the original and revised applications was HTA Design, with BDP designing the masterplan for the whole site.

Additionally, they were in control of the landscape and architectural design of the medium-rise area of the development, including;

• apartments,
• houses,
• community facilities,
• shops.

Broadway Malyan have designed the low-rise residential area of the development, and the proposed leisure centre has been designed Pozzoni Architects.

With homes varying from one-bed studios to five-bed family houses, and additional dwellings for the elderly and people with disabilities, 5 neighbourhoods are anticipated.

Mark Rolt, the chief executive at ThamesWey, said;

“We’re looking forward to getting started on Canalside – a fantastic, environmentally friendly project that will create a truly sustainable community. BDP has been a key contributor to the development of the scheme and their focus on translating our objectives of increasing the density of both dwellings and parking while increasing open space and car-free areas into viable designs has been invaluable.”

The architect director at BDP, Nick Fairham, continued;

“We have prioritised cycling and pedestrian routes to key community buildings, meaning streets are car-free, whilst there is a strong emphasis on green spaces. Individual areas, defined by their own unique character, are centered on parkland, whilst a variety of housing meets demand from people across multiple generations to help foster mixed, balanced communities.”

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