The Foundry and Church Street workshop site is part of a small industrial site in west Dorking, owned by MVDC and located between West Street, North Street and Church Street. The site also neighbours the Dorking Museum.

Prior to demolition, the site contained six light industrial units. Units on the Foundry side were at the end of their life. The units on the Church Street site were in better condition but did not meet current modern standards.

• 2014
  • Discussions to redevelop the Foundry site begin, with the aim of providing affordable housing through a land disposal to a Registered Provider of Social Housing. Despite a full marketing campaign it fails to attract a buyer on the grounds that the proposal is not viable. The site is considered too small and complex given the potential issues of contamination, access and its location within a Conservation Area.
  • In light of the feedback, MVDC revisits the options for the site, and the proposals are widened to include the Church Street workshops and expand the redevelopment for a mixed-use project that retains and expands artisan workshop units, together with providing new residential units. The site is proposed for inclusion in the emerging Local Plan as a strategic site for redevelopment.

  January – February 2021

  • Following consideration by the MVDC Scrutiny Committee in January 2021, MVDC Cabinet approves the recommendation to allocate funding to progress proposals for the site to RIBA Stage 2*.*The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work organises the process of briefing, designing, constructing and operating building projects into eight stages and explains the stage outcomes, core tasks and information exchanges required at each stage.

  September 2021

  • The Regulation 19 version of the draft Local Plan, that includes the Foundry and Church Street workshop site (DS33) as a strategic site, is approved for publication. The consultation closed in November 2021.

  February 2022

  • The Local Plan is approved for submission to the Secretary of State/Planning Inspector.

  Summer 2022

  • Examination in public starts in June 2022 and ends in October 2022.

  July 2022

  • One Public Estate (a national programme that supports locally-led partnerships of public sector bodies, helping partners to repurpose public estate for housing and regeneration) launches a new fund – the Brownfield Land Release Fund. The fund is designed to help councils to transform unused, redundant or derelict sites into high quality homes.

  August 2022

  • MVDC submits a bid to the Brownfield Land Release Fund.

  October 2022

  • Discussions begin with the four tenants at the site; one of whom exercises their right to terminate their lease.
  • In order to offer assistance to the remaining three tenants, MVDC starts exploring vacant industrial units and liaising with commercial property agents. With no vacant industrial units to offer, temporary alternative accommodation and potential sharing options with existing tenants are also explored.
  • MVDC is notified (on a confidential basis) of its successful Brownfield Land Release Fund bid; the allocation of the award is announced in November 2022.
  • Site surveys (including drainage, asbestos demolition, topographical and measured building and contaminated land) begin.
  • A Preliminary Roost Assessment finds the likelihood of bats roosting in any of the buildings to be negligible to low and a subsequent bat emergence survey is scheduled in for May 2023 (such surveys can only be undertaken between the months of May and September).

  December 2022

  • A planning application for demolition [reference MO/2022/2145] is prepared and submitted, later scheduled for a decision in June 2023 and then deferred until October 2023.

  January 2023

  • Formal notice is given to the remaining three tenants that leases are to be terminated with six months’ notice (in accordance with the terms of the leases), to take effect from July 2023.
  • Following a competitive tender process, McGregor White Architects is appointed to lead the design and viability work, with the aim of submitting a planning application for redevelopment by April 2024.
  • The contract for demolition goes out to tender.

  March 2023

  • A stakeholder workshop is held, allowing tenants, neighbouring residents and businesses to view and comment on the first set of massing sketches produced by McGregor White Architects.
  • The contract for demolition is awarded, in line with the conditions of the grant funding. However as the site is in a conservation area, demolition works cannot start without planning consent.

  May 2023

  • Bat emergence survey complete.

  June 2023

  • The planning application for demolition works that was submitted to MVDC (as the Local Planning Authority) in December 2022 [reference MO/2022/2145] was due to be considered at the June meeting of the Development Management Committee, but was deferred.

  July 2023

  • A second stakeholder workshop is held allowing neighbouring residents, businesses and other interested parties to comment on amended concept designs produced by architects McGregor White. Due to the deferral of the planning application for demolition, new short leases are agreed with the two remaining tenants, to October 2023.

  September 2023

  One of the two remaining tenants finds alternative premises to move to when their existing short lease expires on 10th October. The other tenant is offered and accepts premises in Dorking.

  October 2023

  The application to demolish is approved by MVDC Cabinet.

  February 2024

  Demolition of the old units completed.

  March 2025

  Public engagement on the proposed plans, ahead of planning submission.

The redevelopment project is being carried out by MVDC, it is not being ‘sold off’ to developers.

MVDC was previously working together with McGregor White Architects (during RIBA Stage 2) and is now working with PDP Architecture (for RIBA Stage 3).

The Church Street workshops needed to be demolished in order for the wider site to be redeveloped and to improve the financial viability of redevelopment.

MVDC was successful in obtaining grant funding of £90,000 from the Brownfield Land Release Fund, toward demolition costs. Concept designs include replacement commercial/workshop space that (unlike the previous workshop units) will be heated, energy efficient and satisfy current building regulations.

Previous to demolition, the site contained six workshop units.

Rental income across the combined site was decreasing, whilst maintenance costs (which included emergency replacement of broken asbestos sheets and health and safety works to the toilet block) were increasing. MVDC also had a business rates liability, meaning that the site used to cost thousands of pounds each year to keep.

In early March 2023 MVDC held a face-to-face consultation workshop for tenants, neighbours and community stakeholders, where early-stage plans and concepts were discussed. The first set of design sketches proposed six apartments and c. 2400sqft of commercial space, which would offer more employment opportunities than the existing units on site.

A second design workshop for key stakeholders was held in late July 2023. Concept designs had been prepared following the feedback from the March consultation, and feedback from a planning pre-application. The design at this stage included 6 apartments (4 x 2 bedroom and 2 x 1 bedroom) together with 187 sq m of new workshop/commercial space.

Further stakeholder drop in sessions were held in September 2024 and February 2025 and a public engagement session held during March 2025.

Feedback from this engagement phase will be reviewed ahead of submitting a planning application (end April 2025).

The site has now been cleared to ground floor level with site hoardings and making good of boundaries, all in accordance with the scheme and conditions approved by MVDC as the planning authority.

Subject to the time it takes to achieve a planning permission, we expect a gap of approximately 12-18 months between the demolition and start of construction on the new scheme.

The site was not known to contain any protected species. A Preliminary Roost Assessment was carried out by Deepdene Ecology and confirmed that the likelihood of bats roosting in any of the buildings on site was low to negligible. A bat emergence survey was completed in May 2023.

The current proposal is that all residential units will be marketed by MVDC for private sale.

MVDC will retain the commercial (‘workshop’) units, these will be rented out. They have been designed to be used as workshops with large double opening doors, level access and to-door vehicle access. The intention is that these will be in keeping with the previous uses of the Foundry and Church Street workshops.

The lower section of the wall is of most historic interest, this will be preserved and retained. This section of wall could not be seen by the public prior to demolition of the old units surrounding it but, after the development is complete, will be visible from both Church Street and North Street.

It is proposed that the gate and pedestrian link between Church Street and the Foundry will be private, for use by the residents and commercial tenants.

No, the only vehicular entrances will be from North Street and Church Street. The pedestrian route from West Street to North Street will be kept.

March 2025

Residents and businesses were invited to explore the latest plans and share their views. Feedback from this engagement phase will be reviewed ahead of submitting a planning application (April/May 2025).

*The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work organises the process of briefing, designing, constructing and operating building projects into eight stages and explains the stage outcomes, core tasks and information exchanges required at each stage.