Reimagining a vacant brownfield site into a sustainable, contemporary mixed-use quarter

Located in the heart of Guildford town centre, the Friary Quarter will play a pivotal role in delivering much-needed new homes for the borough, as well as creating a high-quality and sustainable new quarter for the town.

The proposals will deliver 473 new homes, ground-floor mixed uses, extensive pedestrianisation of several historic routes, as well as a new inviting and accessible bus interchange. New spaces to eat, shop, visit, live, meet and play will be encompassed by public realm, helping to bring the site back to life. There will be a series of new public spaces, including three key squares, for the community to enjoy, including hard and soft landscaping and public art.

Homes will range from studio apartments to three-bedroom dwellings with private residential courtyard gardens and one podium-level garden to provide residents with outdoor communal amenity space.

The Friary Quarter will have a varied architectural approach whilst embracing its own character and respecting the heritage of the site’s surroundings and the town’s rich history. The dominance of red brick in Guildford is a key characteristic and a palette of materials has been established around this with several tones of red at its heart. Layering of further colours and textures make this palette feel contemporary and varied.

This development will set a new benchmark for sustainability with gas-free energy, all-electric charging car park, planting over 120 new trees, 72% reduction in CO2 emissions and an impressive biodiversity net gain with living roofs on all available rooftops.

The plans have committed to delivering two of Guildford Borough Council’s long-held strategic ambitions; a striking new bus interchange and the pedestrianisation of North Street, by removing over 300 vehicles an hour, to create a safer, more welcoming environment for shoppers, residents and visitors.

The local community has been consulted throughout the design process working alongside St Edward to engage extensively with stakeholder groups, local residents and statutory consultees. Online webinars were enabled throughout Covid-19, which ran in parallel to a website, to allow members of the public to stay up to date and provide feedback on proposals.