The redevelopment will run in parallel with bringing safer roads and pavements plus vast improvements to the landscaping and amenities on Oxshott High Street.

Background on the Regeneration Team

The team are proud residents of Oxshott and business owners in the high street and have been committed to the community for many years already. The team created the non-profit platform Oxshott Delivery immediately as we all went into lockdown and pulled many of the businesses together to launch their products online and keep them all surviving. As you will remember, the entire community rallied together to help one another and the key workers and families in need too. This unity in our village made headline news across the UK.

The same people organised the Oxshott Jubilee and the annual Oxshott Spectacular, in which they organise and fund, along with the other high street businesses, to bring the community together every year. The team worked closely with Fedora who successfully led the traffic management and safety of our high street by reducing the high street traffic to 20mph and night-time HGV ban. The same priority has and will always continue to be the case, looking after the village and residents first.

Oxshott High Street

The high street regeneration project is all about the village, with commercial considerations secondary. There will be zero financial gain to the regeneration team from the initial sale of the residential apartments. The regeneration team’s sole aim is to significantly upgrade the old and unsafe buildings and maintain them to a very high standard. The key goal is that ownership of the commercial units involved is protected on behalf of the village to safeguard their future and protect high quality, independent businesses.

We want both local businesses and our community to feel proud of our village and be involved in its future. We will soon be holding conversations with Fedora about how they can help us to ensure that this remains the case for generations to come as part of a trust.

Oxshott High Street

South End Views

Oxshott High Street

North End Views

Shops

The high street regeneration will start soon. One of the main reasons for the regeneration is to protect the future of our independent shops, for them, and for those in our community who depend on them.

The shops’ locations during and after the works has been one of the central considerations of our collective planning and will continue to be.

Site 1 – Planned from Jun 2024

49 & 50 High Street – currently Oxshott Village Store and Post Office, and the Pharmacy

Oxshott Village Store and Post Office will move over the road to The Old Post Office as long as the public consultation to keep the Post Office in the high street is supported, so this is really important as a community to help. This new location is its former home, in the centre of the high street, where the Charnay Kitchen shop has been located.

Where previously deliveries would block traffic, the new location will facilitate drop-off logistics with the loading bay outside Heath Buildings on the same side of the road, and delivery options at the back of the building. Nish and the team have been working with the regeneration team on their site plans with new layout and customer journey.  Nish and the team will need the support of the village as the Post Office has to go out for public consultation to support their relocation.

An exciting time!

The Pharmacy has moved to Gladefearn, the former Babayan Pearce site. The regeneration team have worked together to keep Sharn and the Oxshott Pharmacy team next to the Post Office which is convenient for those businesses, and their customers. With Gladefearn site becoming available it was a natural fit. The refurbishment will be complete shortly and secure the Pharmacy for decades to come which we all appreciate.

Cock-A-Doodle Dough and the regeneration team have been exploring temporary sites together for many months, with many supportive options.

Their current location and its challenges have been between them and their existing head lease landlords – an arrangement dating back to April 2020.

Their recent social media posts have triggered offers of support from members of the community as well as local businesses. These can hopefully help them stay in the village in one of the locations offered collectively by the regeneration team and another business site in the high street.

Site 2 – Planned from September 2025

1 & 2 High Street – currently West One Bathrooms and the Surrey Hills Delicatessen

West One Bathrooms conversations will commence soon. Watch this space for updates.

Surrey Hills Delicatessen have been working with the regeneration team on their expansion plans. Nick and the team will be fully supported and temporarily rehoused in the high street before settling in a permanent location in the Heath Buildings where they will create a wonderful new farm shop style concept. The current vision includes a fish mongers, bakery and green grocers under their umbrella.

Site 3 – Heath Buildings – Planned from summer 2025 – subject to planning approval.

The vision is to have a wonderful new farm shop consisting of Surrey Hills Delicatessen, Bakers, Fishmonger’s, Greengrocers & Reads Florist with seating in and outside offering tasty food & beverages.

Reads Florist will be offered a temporary home and then offered a permanent position back in Heath Buildings as part of the farm shop.

The Art Agency was always planned to be a fixed-term tenancy of 12 months. They have been a wonderful addition over the last 9 months, they will be relocating to Cobham in summer 2024 and we wish Alison & Emma all the very best. Make sure you listen out to their new location and please do continue to support them.

Village Ceramics are also one of the village’s longest serving independent retailers. Barry, Scott & Dan, have been an integral part of the high street for decades. The regeneration team will be exploring all avenues to rehouse them.

The Pop-Up Shop will continue up until the start of the redevelopment, supporting new independent local businesses and charities to showcase and promote their concept/products, typically for a month at a time.

Clay Hair Salon will be rehoused opposite to where the Post Office currently is located and be launching an exciting, innovative, and unique hair and beauty concept.

The following sites are not part of the regeneration program, but of course, the shops and villagers are certain they will continue to be an integral part of the future of Oxshott.

Special Thanks:

Charnay, the kitchen architects, are opening a studio outside of Oxshott. David and Jill have been a huge chapter in Oxshott’s history as a home for independent and boutique business and will be dearly missed. The regeneration team is grateful for their support and many in our community will be delighted that their new studio is only down the road. Please continue to support these wonderful people and their great business.

Babayan Pearce closed their doors at the beginning of 2024 and had been one of the longest serving retailers in Oxshott. We all hope David is enjoying his retirement and playing lots of golf. Thank you for being such a pivotal part of the community.

Q & A

Q. What is the vision for Oxshott High Street?

A: Starting in summer 2024, the plans are to regenerate the buildings in the high street that look tired or are potentially unsafe. The businesses will be given safe and sustainable properties, with long leases that can protect their future.

Q: Will the pavement out the front of Heath Buildings be lost?

A: Not at all, on the ground floor the commercial units are all staying on the exact build line apart from the proposed entrance to the new apartments so the overall effect to the pavement reduction is only 7% compared to 17% on the previous application. Therefore, the area for the pavement will actually be 93% of what it is now! In addition, we are all aware it has never been known as “Oxshott Square” and in 20 years no gathering has been made apart from the Christmas Spectacular which the regeneration team organise and fund alongside the businesses every year and they will continue that for years to come.

Q: Will the neighbours be affected with any loss of light?

A: There has been minimal impact on rights of light to the neighbours, this can clearly be read on the report.

Q: When the basement parking happens will it have an impact on the tree roots?

A:  The basement that is already in Clay Hair Salon and The Pop-Up shop sets the basis for the underground parking and the basement is not going down any further and for total clarity there is zero impact on tree roots. You can view the full root scanning report here:
Elmbridge.gov.uk – 4418252.pdf

Q: Will the clock and any trees be relocated?

A: The clock, with the support of Fedora, would be repositioned opposite the pedestrian crossing in what will be a new natural focus point for various sight-lines and framed by mature trees to the north. More trees are being planted along the pavement, bringing green and seasonal blossom, and providing volume for our popular Christmas lighting. There will also be new planters and flower beds that will bring seasonal colour right into the heart of the village.

Q: Will any tree preservation order (TPO) trees from the neighbouring site be affected?

A: We love our woods and mature trees in Oxshott.  Root scanning has been done and approved to ensure that no TPO trees will be affected by this development. However, the arboriculturist report clearly shows some existing damage and can be read in detail via this link: 4431614.pdf (elmbridge.gov.uk) The TPO trees in question have had AstroTurf wrongly put all around them quite some years ago by the neighbours which has caused major damage and safety concerns.

Q: Will the shops be offered a relocation during the build?

A: The businesses that form part of the future vision of the high street have all been offered a temporary or permanent location. You will see that Pharmacy is now its new home and that support will continue to happen for the other businesses too.

Q: What has inspired the architectural style for Heath Buildings?

A: The inspiration carefully blends and balances, the existing Victorian sites, and the approved schemes across the rest of the High Street. The CGI’s show better the future vision.

Q: Will the village events still be able to happen?

A: 100% they will. The team that funds and sponsors these community events is also the team leading the regeneration. These events form a key part of the future vision for a vibrant village, and we hope they continue to be bigger, better, and safer.

Q: Are there plans to shut the A244 during the build?

A: There are no plans to shut the high street during the build. There will be partial pedestrian closures during the build, but access will still be available on the opposite side to wherever the staged building works take place.

Q: Will there be parking for the apartments to be proposed on Heath Buildings?

A: There will be parking for all the apartments plus some additional for visitors also. The parking proposed exceeds standard requirements.

Q: Can Heath Buildings not just be renovated as it is?

A: Unfortunately, not. The existing building is showing structural decay (concrete frame). Most of the flats above are no longer on the valuation agency as they are uninhabitable. Some have major roof damage and leaks that have had decades of internal wall and commercial damage.

Q: Can the bulk, height and massing be reduced any further?

A: The scheme proposed is now the smallest possible that allows it to be viable. Removing the penthouse on the top floor means the scheme becomes unviable. The scheme has also been brought in significantly from the boundaries to the neighbours to show further support to them also and allow a nice new side access either end.  You can see the scheme here Active pages | Elmbridge Borough Council where the neighbours will enjoy the proposed building being set away from their boundary which shows huge support to them.

Q: What is the timeline for the high street and why?

A: The timeline is as follows:
• Summer 2024 – 49 & 50 High Street, planned as a 12-month build.
• Q3 2025 – 1 – 2 High Street, planned as a 12-month build.
• When those two schemes complete, and the Wisley interchange is complete, the regeneration of Heath Buildings will commence and is expected to be an 18-month build.

Q: Are we losing the Post Office & Village Store?

A: Certainly not, The Post Office & Village Store will, with the support of the village, return to its original home in the centre of the high street where Charnay kitchen shop was located. This is a wonderful story for the historians of Oxshott.

Q: Will these shops have better or worse delivery access to support them?

A: Many shops who receive large daily deliveries have struggled in their existing locations with deliveries and that has formed part of the strategy with them in relocating them into a new home that supports with being on the same side as the loading bay or access to the rear. This will support the businesses and reduce the impact on passing traffic.