Major Guildford scheme set for green light after changes made

Revised plans for a new retirement home development at a prominent location in Guildford have been recommended for approval after steps were taken to reduce the scale of the scheme.Pegasus Life, a private equity-backed retirement home business, is seeking permission to develop assisted living accommodation for older people at a brownfield site on Portsmouth Road which from 1960 until 2006 was occupied by Burymead House.Now cleared, the site has permission in place for an office block, but this has not progressed.Pegasus plans to build apartments across four blocks, alongside communal facilities including a residents’ lounge, guest suite, health and well-being facilities and a café/restaurant.The scheme was recommended for approval in November, but the application was deferred to enable planning officers to negotiate with the developer over reducing the overall scale of the proposed building along the Portsmouth Road frontage.The reduction in height was required because of a perceived detrimental impact the scheme would have upon the grade II*-listed St Nicholas Church, the Wycliffe Building and wider vistas.Following discussions between the applicant and council officers, a whole storey has been taken off the height of block A, which is considered to have led to “a meaningful reduction in the scale of the scheme along the Portsmouth Road elevation”.It was noted in the report from November that the project would create jobs during construction and once operational, help to meet the shortfall of housing for older people while making a significant contribution towards the council’s current unmet housing need.Pegasus Life was established in 2012 by Oaktree Capital Management and now has a portfolio of retirement properties across England.