Crown Place, Chertsey Road , Woking, Surrey, GU21 5AJ

demolition of all existing buildings including existing footbridge to Victoria Way Car Park and redevelopment of site to provide a new building ranging from 5x to 28x storeys plus basement level comprising up to 366x residential units (Use Class C3), commercial (Use Classes A1/A2/A3) and community uses (Use Classes D1/D2) at ground floor and first floor level and associated internal and external amenity spaces, basement level car parking, cycle parking, bin storage, ancillary facilities, plant, new public realm, landscaping and highway works

Authority: Woking Borough Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Downes T

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect on the character and appearance of the area, including nearby heritage assets
Whether satisfactory provision has been made for the provision of affordable housing

What decided it

The very significant weight attached to the public benefits of the scheme, particularly the delivery of 244 Build to Rent housing units, outweighed the limited heritage harm and any policy conflict.

The less-than-substantial harm (at the lower end of the scale) to the Conservation Area, Christ Church and a non-designated heritage asset was outweighed by the very significant package of public benefits, including the Build to Rent housing provision, meaning the scheme accorded with the development plan as a whole and, in the alternative, that the balance of material considerations still favoured granting permission.

Framework references: 11, 56, 199, 202

Plan policies cited: Policy CS1, Policy CS2, Policy CS8, Policy CS12, Policy CS18, Policy CS19, Policy CS20, Policy CS21, Policy CS24, Policy UA15, saved policy NRM6

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.