Welcome to our dedicated consultation website for the redevelopment of the University of Law site in Guildford.

Planning Application Update – July 2024

In November 2023, following 10 months of public engagement, we submitted our planning application to Guildford Borough Council (GBC) [Planning Reference 23/P/01850] to sensitively redevelop the University of Law site into a much needed later living led community.

Since submission, our project team has reviewed the feedback received on the application and continued to engage proactively with GBC Officers, councillors and local residents, to better understand local sentiment and expectations regarding our proposals to regenerate the former university site. This is especially important now that the university has vacated the site, leaving it derelict.

Following an in-depth review of the comments received, we have considered various ways in which we can make amendments to the application to help address local comments.

Following a recent newsletter drop and community drop-in session, we are now in a position to submit our revised proposals, outlining the proposed changes to help address key local questions.

In brief, these amendments are as follows:

– A reduction in the number of new buildings

– A reduction in building heights and overall massing

– Complete removal of Plot K (Zone 2) and Plot O (Zone 3 – development on the current car park area adjacent to Sandy Lane)

– Re-orientation and evolved design across all buildings

– A greater retention of existing trees across the site

Key Site Views

This link provides key views from 30 different locations around the local area and within the site, as previously agreed with Officers at Guildford Borough Council. Following feedback from Officers and local residents during the determination of the application, four of the original views have now been produced as fully rendered images in order to accurately illustrate the proposed materiality and tone of the buildings. The remainder of the views illustrate the proposed massing using wirelines. The document(s) that have been uploaded show the existing view; the originally submitted scheme (November 2023) and the amended scheme (July 2024).

It is hoped that this assists with a further understanding of the revisions which have been made since the scheme was originally submitted in November 2023.   The views have been produced by Cityscape and will also be uploaded to Guildford Borough Council’s Planning Portal alongside the submitted planning addendum.

Community Presentation

At the community drop-in session on Thursday 11 July 2024, the team presented the following update – CLICK HERE. The slides outlined the following:

1. The existing locations and quality of Elysian’s current developments and communities
2. Elysian’s outlook and commitment to long term stewardship and management of the University of Law site
3. A reminder of the masterplan for the University of Law site that was submitted in November 2023
4. A detailed overview of the key changes proposed as part of our application update submission in July 2024
5. A summary of how the new buildings have reduced in height and changed in design, in direct response to local feedback
6. New Computer Generated Images, highlighting the detail of the revised proposals – displaying new building materials and key design changes.

This significant update to the application will be formally submitted in July 2024 to Guildford Borough Council. We hope the updates are welcomed locally. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any comments or questions.

Meet the team at our next community webinar

For those of you who were unable to attend the drop-in event, or if you have further questions following our submission, we are holding a community webinar session on Tuesday 27 August at 18:30 where you will have the opportunity to take part in a Questions and Answers session with members of the Development Team and see the amended plans for the University of Law site.

If you do wish to join the webinar, please email janine@themorrisconsultancy.co.uk by 5pm on 26/08/24 and you will be sent a link to use in order to take part in the session. Please note, the formal consultation period has been extended to allow for any comments, post-webinar, should you wish to comment.

If you do have any questions to raise at the webinar, please submit these at least 24 hours in advance of the session so that we can manage the event to ensure all the questions are answered on the evening. Please note, this is a virtual event only.

Thank you!

We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued input and help with our evolving proposals. We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the application and remain open to further feedback during the coming months. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

To assist with the delivery of their exciting proposals, Elysian are working with the following expert project team:

The first of a multi stage consultation programme was held in March 2023, at which the team outlined their early thoughts and ideas.  In addition, our team held a series of introductory meetings with our closest site neighbours and key stakeholders.  A face to face public consultation was held at St. Catherine’s Village Hall, which was supported by an online exhibition, which can be viewed below, as well as two live Q&A sessions.

Broadly, during the first round of public consultation, the following key points were raised:

• Retaining the site’s green spaces was considered essential.
• Not building in the parkland in front of the manor was advised.
• Opening up the site and providing public access to the grounds was supported.
• Early community engagement was greatly appreciated.
• Traffic and construction management was a priority.
• Sensitive restoration of Braboeuf was appreciated.
• Local residents were keen to understand the design of the proposals as they evolve.

Exhibition within St. Catherine’s Village Hall (28th March 2023)