Summary_Response_Nat...
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The Society has now responded to the first Public Consultation by Native Land on the proposal to redevelop the Debenhams site.
We have sent Native Land, the developers, detailed answers related to the questions posed on the consultation website. You can see the response at the document at the foot of this post.
This is a vital site for the town and must be got right for future generations. It is a complex development being subject to flooding, near key heritage assets (Guildford Castle -Scheduled Monument, St Marys Church Grade-1, and St Nicholas Church Grade-11*) and currently poorly linked to the rest of the town centre.
The Society welcomes the concept of more open space and having greater public accessibility.
We are extremely concerned that Mass and the Height of any new development is appropriate. Native Land need to show the options on height, numbers of buildings etc.
We are aware that there is a complex trade-off between many factors including:
The proposals shown to date do not appear to have explored all the potential options.
The Council have now installed Vu.City which allows new developments to be placed into a computer model of the Town Centre. We hope Native Land can collaborate with Guildford Council so that Guildford Residents can fully understand the various options particularly how proposals will appear from:
There needs to be a properly developed spatial strategy for the Town Centre. The Town Centre Masterplan is key to this.
How the St Marys Wharf is positioned vs. the North Street Redevelopment Site which are both planned to have an element of Retail and Public Space is vital.
Using St Marys Wharf to anchor a new quarter and area for Guildford could be more appropriate than straight retail, one to discuss with the council.
Where is the Centre of the Town? View article
The refocussing of retail in Guildford is making change in the Town Centre Inevitable. Several large Shops are closing or radically downsizing including House of Fraser (there appear to be plans to turn part of the shop into a hotel), and Deben... View article
Debenhams is Closing View article
The Debenhams site is an opportunity for the Town -- we should not lose it.
Today 1-12-2020 the demise of Debenhams was annouced. This is obviously a major concern to the many Debenhams employees, particulalry as other retail jobs are not re... View article
Debenhams Site - St Marys Wharf Consulta... View article
Native Land have appointed a team to propose a design for the site. The Society has added a page to the website to keep track of progress of the development.
The team have now published a initial ideas for the site, and to kee... View article
Twentieth Century Society objects to Deb... View article
The Twentieth Century Society was founded in 1979 to support interest in C20th architecture and to complement the preservation work of the Victorian Society, which was founded in 1959.
The Twentieth Century Society has campaigned successfully to p... View article
St Marys Wharf - Second Consultation -Th... View article
Native Land, have now who have acquired the Debenhams site, have now issued an interim update on their emerging ideas. The site has been renamed as St Marys Wharf.
The update, which is available for comment until the 21st May, builds on the ... View article
Debenhams - St Mary’s Wharf Stage 3 Cons... View article
Native Land have commenced a three week Stage 3 of their consultation on the re-development of the Debenhams site. The consultation is being done electronically and can be found on the St Mary’s Wharf Site . There is a slide sh... View article
St Mary’s - Historic England Comment on ... View article
In a rare development Historic England has formally objected to the Debenhams redevelopment proposals. Historic England is the government body that looks after England's historic environment, including listing buildings, and reviews planning appl... View article
Guildford Deserves Better View article
The Society has written to all councillors making the following comments on the St Mary's/Debenehams application for redevelopment.
Note sent to Councillors
The Committee in its determination of the application to redevelop the Debenhams/St... View article
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