Common questions and answers

Yes. We are keen to work with the community and will continue to engage on a regular basis throughout our development of the site and when new residents have moved in. Please register on our website to receive all our project updates.

As an affordable housing provider, Clarion Housing Group is looking to provide new homes to meet local needs. The number of homes proposed is formulated through consideration of what level of housing a site can reasonably provide, a local needs assessment and by working with the relevant local authorities. Through this process, the site will ultimately make a significant contribution to Dorking’s affordable housing stock.

Our current plans for the site entail the delivery of 126 affordable homes in a mixture of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments.

This is housing for rent to those whose needs are not met by the market. This development is comprised entirely of affordable housing for affordable rent (calculated as a percentage of the market rent but capped in line with the local housing allowance rates https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx ).

Register your interest here:

https://www.myclarionhousing.com/find-a-home/rent-a-home/homefinder-uk  

 Alternatively contact your local authority.

The site is located adjacent to the Dorking Railway Station, the bus interchange and Dorking town centre. As a result, we are providing limited parking spaces for the new residents including the disabled users. We encourage all residents to use sustainable means of travel and to reduce their carbon footprint, so we have provided secure and sheltered cycle parking facility within each block with a minimum provision of one cycle space per apartment.

Some of the new residents will enjoy the provision of an allocated parking space. However we will encourage our new residents to travel using the local bus routes and the train services connecting into London, Redhill, Gatwick, Reading. We will work with the local authorities to agree that no new parking permits will be issued to the new residents. The new homes will also be clearly advertised to potential tenants as having no parking facilities.  

We have included a number of measures to make walking and cycling easier for residents and to encourage sustainable active travel as an alternative to driving, such as the generous provision of on site secure cycle parking.

We will provide a commercial space at ground floor level fronting Station Approach and will engage with local businesses to understand their intention to let it. We will also look at finding other businesses potentially interested to occupying this space such as a cycling outlet, grocery store, etc.

We will provide open green spaces for the new residents, seating, a children’s play space and an area to grow fruit and vegetables in a community ‘grow garden’.

At Station Approach, once planning has been approved, we will work with the local authority to agree contributions towards the local services. The Council uses this contribution to plan for community infrastructure needs arising from its own assessment, which typically covers things such as primary and secondary education and sports provision.

A number of low-quality trees will be lost as part of the proposals. This will be overcome by planting 26 new trees of a higher quality and a series of local hedgerows that will improve the ecological value of the site (10% biodiversity net gain).

Exact timescales will be confirmed once the main contractor is appointed however, it is anticipated that works will commence during the third quarter of 2024.

We anticipate the site to operate within working hours Monday through Friday and half a day on Saturday. Exact arrangements will be agreed in advance between the main contractor and the local authorities.

During the construction phase there will be a reasonable increase in vehicle movements associated with the site. The main contractor for the development will prepare a Construction Traffic Management Plan, which will be approved by the local authorities. This will outline all vehicle movements, frequencies and access routes. The Council will work closely with the contractor to minimise the negative effects of this on the local road network and infrastructure. The Council will also ensure that the contractor reaches a mutually agreeable solution with local residents in order to maintain access to their properties at all times throughout the works.

We carefully consider this in planning design and during construction stages. Our approach includes:

Managing the construction process to reduce the potential for disruption.

Ensuring our contractors are signed up to the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

Our contractors will prepare a Construction Management Plan to minimise disruption, which will cover topics such as hours of operation, delivery times, how construction workers travel to and from site.

Dedicated personnel will be made available for residents to contact with any concerns during the construction phase.

Yes – Clarion Futures has supported almost 4,000 people into jobs and over 250 new apprenticeships across our projects in the last 12 months. Our dedicated community team ensure we incorporate local job opportunities into all aspects of the development, not just within the construction programme. Prioritising local people and businesses for commercial opportunities within the development is also high on our priority list, and we are actively seeking to engage with stakeholders as soon as possible.