Thank you for all the comments we received during our public consultation. The planning application for Ockford Park Phase 2 has now been submitted to Guildford Borough Council. You can see our full newsletter update here.
Ockford Park, Phase 2
Our consultation ran in September and October 2025, and a planning application has now been submitted to Guildford Borough Council.
On this website, you can still find out more about our plans and see how to contact us if you have any questions.
The site
The site has very established boundaries with Halfway Lane to the north, Eashing Lane to the west, Aarons Hill to the south, and the recently completed new homes and community centre of Ockford Park Phase 1 to the east.
The site is not publicly accessible and is currently used as arable land, having previously been used as the construction access and compound for Phase 1.
With its sustainable location and excellent connections into the town centre and the train station, this site can support much-needed, high quality new homes and public open spaces.
Background and Planning Policy
Ockford Park was originally envisaged as a comprehensive, cross-border development with Phase 1 within Waverley Borough and Phase 2 within Guildford Borough, and the site was promoted on this basis with both Councils between 2016 and 2019. Ockford Park Phase 1, now completed and fully occupied, was granted planning permission by Waverley Borough Council in 2019.
The Phase 2 site was identified as a draft allocation in Guildford Borough Council’s Local Plan within the Council’s Main Modifications during Examination in Public. The Council’s evidence base identified the site as appropriate for Green Belt release to help meet local housing needs. The site was not allocated due to changes on how local housing need was calculated at the time, however, Guildford’s annual housing target is now significantly higher, and in December 2024 the Government changed its National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requiring Local Planning Authorities to meet their housing needs in full.
The new NPPF also introduced ‘Grey Belt’ as a designation that allows development in the Green Belt if certain criteria are met, and to assist Local Planning Authorities in meeting their housing need. Assessments have shown that the site falls within the statutory definition of Grey Belt, and given its sustainable location, it would make a valuable contribution to local housing supply.
Initial Concept and Engagement with Statutory Bodies
- Once the principle of Grey Belt was established, early design work started to see how the development could sit within the landscape, exploring a landscape strategy and possible development parcels, indicating a possible yield of 240-250 new homes.
- Early meetings with Guildford Borough Council in 2025 led to a Planning Performance Agreement being put in place to set out a programme of engagement prior to submission of a planning application to include all relevant statutory bodies and a Design Review Panel.
- Early engagement with Surrey County Council on highways matters established the site is sustainable and broadly acceptable subject to detailed design and a package of measures for Eashing Lane.
- A Design Review Panel was held in May 2025 to provide independent expert feedback on the initial proposals, and a series of further design meetings followed with officers at both Guildford and Surrey, to help shape and frame the proposals now being presented to the local community.
Proposals
Proposals at a glance
234 much needed new homes in a sustainable location
117 new affordable homes (50%) for local people
Package of highways improvements and traffic calming measures along Eashing Lane including a new crossing to the Primary School
Beautifully landscaped neighbourhood with 2.5ha. of new public green spaces and areas of play
A new central Village Green for Ockford Park, adjacent to the new Community Centre
New walking and cycle facilities to provide safer and more pleasant routes, encouraging non-car travel
20% Biodiversity Net Gain to be delivered onsite alongside industry leading sustainability measures
Significant investment generated for local facilities and services, and for the local economy
Our emerging masterplan
New affordable homes for Godalming
Ockford Park Phase 2 will deliver 117 new Affordable Homes (50% of the total new homes), making a huge difference to local families who need a permanent home.
There will be 117 new homes available on the open market, with a varied and sustainable mix of dwelling types to suit all prospective homeowners, from first time buyers, to families, to downsizers.
Building Design and Landscaping
Landscape character in the eastern edge and central areas will feature:
- Structured planting with repeated blocks of low ornamental species, clipped hedges, and areas of lawn in deeper gardens to create a formal, cohesive streetscape.
- Uniform, upright street trees will be planted at regular intervals, reinforcing the rhythm of the Main Street while low metal railings with hedges will maintain a consistent and ordered frontage.
Towards the green northern and western edges, as the density of development falls:
- Street trees planted in more informal groups framing key views and aid the transition to the open spaces.
- Native and wildlife friendly planting, including wildflower, hedgerows, and informal shrub mixes to support biodiversity and maintain a soft, rural feel.
- Boundaries will be defined by native planting or timber post and rail fencing to reinforce the rural edge character.
A Village Green for Ockford Park
Phase 2 will complete the green heart originally intended for Ockford Park with a new Village Green to accompany the new community centre provided in Phase 1. This will be a landscaped open green space for everyone to enjoy.
Play and Open Spaces
In addition to the Village Green there will be a series of other public spaces providing a range of formal and informal play opportunities.
- Formal equipped play areas to be provided, while maintaining a natural character through the use of timber equipment and soft landscaping.
- A series of informal Play on the Way features sensitively integrated throughout the site encouraging exploration and active travel. These elements are designed to complement the natural surroundings, using materials and layouts that blend into the landscape.
- Plenty of other dedicated spaces for play, dog-walking and leisure, all from land which is not currently publicly accessible.
Enhancing Biodiversity and Sustainability
- Existing boundary trees and hedges will be retained and protected, respecting the Tree Preservation Order.
- The northern boundaries to Halfway Lane and Eashing Lane are to be enhanced with shrub and tree planting and grassland/wild flower areas, with the development set back to provide significant opportunity for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
- Further opportunities for BNG in other green areas through the development, including a considerable number of new trees, resulting in a 20% Biodiversity Net Gain on-site.
- Surveys have shown no evidence of protected species on site, but proposals will include bat and bird boxes together with refugia areas for reptiles where appropriate.
- Industry leading sustainability measures to include air source heat pumps and solar panels, which with modern building techniques will result in low energy consumption and low household bills.
- Sustainable Urban Drainage System to ensure all surface water is managed, and built to cope with the modelled extreme climate change rainfall events.
Safer Green Route for Eashing Lane
A new green route for pedestrians and cyclists will be provided through the western part of the site as a safer route for those travelling along Eashing Lane, as an alternative to walking along the road.
Traffic onto Eashing Lane
A comprehensive assessment of the transport implications of the proposal is being undertaken by i-Transport, who also assessed the Phase 1 Ockford Park scheme. i-Transport has agreed various parameters with the local highway authority (Surrey County Council), based on robust empirical data including fresh surveys undertaken on a typical school term time day.
The graph shows actual traffic volumes on a typical school term day measured in 2017 (dash line), compared to actual traffic volumes measured in 2025 (yellow), plus an allowance for traffic growth and other developments such as Hurst Farm (grey), plus the estimated development traffic for Phase 2 (blue). The analysis work is ongoing but surveys have shown that the highway network will operate acceptably with the development traffic from Phase 2.
i-Transport has also recently surveyed actual traffic flows for Phase 1 to see how their previous traffic generation estimates compare with reality today. This shows the number of vehicle movements actually generated on a typical school term time day is slightly lower (and therefore better) than predicted at the time planning was granted. It’s clear that COVID has had a material impact on when and how we travel, and future traffic demands are not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels.
These surveys have demonstrated the highway network can cope with the new development, subject to accessibility improvements including a new pedestrian and cycle crossing on Eashing Lane, and a package of traffic calming improvements along Eashing Lane.
The wider package of traffic calming on Eashing Lane is currently being assessed by Surrey County Council. Further details of these works will be available in due course, and it is acknowledged that this is a vital component of the proposals.
Accessibility and Sustainable Travel
- The site is in a sustainable location with easy pedestrian and cyclist access into Godalming town centre and the train station, either along Eashing Lane or through Phase 1 and along New Way.
- The existing haul road access used for Phase 1 will be used as the main vehicle access for the new development, along with a vehicle link to the east into Ock Way.
- Roads have been designed in accordance with Surrey County Council’s Healthy Streets with priority for pedestrians and cyclists, and key pedestrian and cyclist desire lines have been identified and incorporated into the layout of the development.
- Along with a wider package of measures for Eashing Lane, a new parallel crossing for pedestrians and cyclists will be provided to provide a safe link from Aarons Hill to the school and into Franklyn Road.
- In addition to the promotion of the existing bus service, Car Club spaces will be provided and the scheme has been designed to enable use of the Digital Demand Response Transport (DDRT) Bus routes.
A soft, green edge for Godalming
Godalming has a leafy, green character which Ashill want to support and protect at Ockford Park. As a key entry point into the town, Eashing Lane is important to setting the local character.
Phase 2 will be set back from Eashing Lane, and the site as a whole will leave a soft, green edge along its northern and western boundaries, which is an integral part of the landscaping strategy, and will form an exceptional new arrival into Godalming.
Proposals at a glance
234 much needed new homes in a sustainable location
117 new affordable homes (50%) for local people
Package of highways improvements and traffic calming measures along Eashing Lane including a new crossing to the Primary School
Beautifully landscaped neighbourhood with 2.5ha. of new public green spaces and areas of play
A new central Village Green for Ockford Park, adjacent to the new Community Centre
New walking and cycle facilities to provide safer and more pleasant routes, encouraging non-car travel
20% Biodiversity Net Gain to be delivered onsite alongside industry leading sustainability measures
Significant investment generated for local facilities and services, and for the local economy
Responding to Feedback
Thank you for all the comments we received during our public consultation. We have been able to incorporate this feedback into our plans prior to submitting the planning application.
We received some detailed comments about our proposals from our closest neighbours. In these cases, we have made changes to enhance the tree planting along the northern boundary with Halfway Lane, to retain and enhance hedgerows for additional screening to existing neighbouring properties on Eashing Lane and Aarons Hill, and we have re-aligned some of the new properties to sit more comfortably with existing neighbours.
A key theme during the consultation was the need for highways improvements to manage traffic volume and highway safety, along with concerns about the impact on local services.
Funding was provided to Surrey County Council from Phase 1 of Ockford Park for highways improvements on Eashing Lane, and additional funding from Phase 2 will ensure that the requirement improvements along Eashing Lane will be delivered in full.
Phase 2 will also make significant financial contributions to a wide range of local services, including healthcare and education, through a legally binding Section 106 Agreement. Further details will be available as the planning application progresses.
Next steps
Ashill has submitted the planning application for Ockford Park Phase 2 to Guildford Borough Council. You can view the application and all of the documents Ashill have submitted at the reference 25/P/01474. In November 2025, Ashill issued a community update newsletter to those who had responded to our consultation and left an email address. You can view this update below.
