Woking Borough Council has submitted plans for two major high-rise residential projects in its town centre, through its own development vehicle, Thameswey.
Woking has a number of high-rise towers planned: some are under construction; others have been approved but are yet to start. Adding to those, the council propose a 34-storey building with 174 homes as well as a 17-storey building to include 204 student and co-living rooms.
One Thameswey development is under way on a site close to the station, in partnership with contractor Galliford Try. This scheme will provide nearly 150 homes both for rent and sale. It is understood Thameswey will retain the build-to-rent homes in order to generate income.
Work has also begun recently on a major regeneration project in the Sheerwater area of Woking, where the number of planned homes has been more than doubled – from 570 to 1,200, almost half of which will be affordable. The 74-acre “Canalside” site is expected to take more than seven years to complete.
The latest plans come at a time when many local authorities in and around the capital are taking the initiative and setting up development vehicles to build homes.
A total of 22 London councils are now building schemes, either through direct delivery or through wholly owned development vehicles, with the aim of delivering 23,600 homes within the next five years.
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