Camberley Be Inspired

CAMBERLEY

INSPIRED

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OUR VISION

The destination of choice for the area.

A thriving and dynamic town centre with high quality shopping, vibrant leisure, culture and community. Attractive and enjoyable streets and spaces, offering a safe and well-managed environment and easy links to green space. An accessible location with safe and attractive walking and cycling routes as well as high quality bus access and car parking.

A TOWN WITH A BRIGHT FUTURE

The Council is investing in a number of major projects across the town centre, including improvements to the public realm along the High Street, delivering the total refurbishment of Ashwood House and leading the comprehensive redevelopment of the London Road site.

A TOWN FOUNDED ON EXCELLENCE

Camberley’s distinctive town centre owes its origins to the Royal Military Academy and to the military planners of the 1860s who established the strong grid form that we still have today. Its compact, walkable scale and easy legibility, coupled with safe, pedestrianfriendly streets and spaces make it an attractive centre for everyone.

A DISTINGUISHED HISTORY

2017 – The Council acquires the shopping centre and commences refurbishment 2008 – The Atrium development and Park Street improvements are opened 1980s – The shopping centre is remodelled and the streets enclosed 1973 – The M3 motorway opens, improving access to Camberley 1960s – The town centre is comprehensively remodelled with many New Town influences 1900 – The population reaches 8,400 1878 – The opening of Camberley Station speeds further growth 1877 – The name of Cambridge Town is changed to Camberley 1867 – The Cambridge Hotel on the High Street gives its name to the growing town

Camberley’s historic High Street is still home to numerous historic buildings and a range of local and independent shops.

1860 – A new settlement is planned by Captain C R Knight 1812 – The Royal Military College (later Academy) is founded 1770s – Construction of the Obelisk by John Norris

A GREAT LOCATION

M25

London M4

Heathrow

M4 Reading

M3

Blackwater Valley

M25

M3 Basingstoke singst sings

Farnborough

Woking

Aldershot

Guildford

Farnham

M3

Winchester

Southampton

M27

M27

Portsmouth

Camberley is a safe and prosperous town in the heart of one of the most affluent parts of the UK. The town centre benefits from a great catchment area with easy transport links, and our residents and businesses benefit from easy connections to a wider regional economy.

F R A M E D B Y G R E E N O P E N S P A C E S

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B E R L E Y E I P I R

R G I C E

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A I N T E H

as your first choice destination day and night.

CAMBERLEY TODAY Camberley is a dynamic and progressive town set in the heart of one of the most affluent parts of the UK. The attractive natural landscape of the Blackwater Valley connects right to the heart of the town centre, thanks to our parks, and the mature landscape of the Royal Military Academy.

Camberley has a strong and diverse retail offer, ranging from major high street names focussed around The Square through to independent shops and eateries focussed around the historic premises on the High Street. The Council has taken a major lead in securing the long term vitality of its shops and services by investing in its High Street and through acquiring and investing in the shopping centre.

Camberley has a strong family leisure offer, including a Vue multi-screen cinema and bowling in the Atrium, as well as more casual offers including arts and pop-ups. The centre already offers a wide range of choices for family dining, and we want to see the range of food and drink grow and diversify.

Town Centre living has been a small but growing part of the current town centre, with new residential developments around the Atrium and in Ashwood House. We know that growing the resident population of the centre will be great for vitality and offers a sustainable and attractive lifestyle for everyone.

Significant investment is already being made in the accessibility of Camberley town centre, with more work planned. Improvements to the main London Road, along with a £5m improvement to the Meadows Gyratory is already in hand.

The regeneration work is supported by a comprehensive events programme, grant schemes for independent businesses and cultural enrichment projects to ensure Camberley is a key destination and experience for the community.

Camberley’s parking is a significant asset, being easy to access and well-located for the shops and facilities in the town centre. The Council is continuing to invest in it’s car parks to ensure that they are attractive, safe and easy to use.

We are now planning the next exciting phase of Camberley’s future, with plans to redevelop the London Road on the northern side of the town centre. There are also future development opportunities to the east of Knoll Road, all of which are intended to boost the vibrancy and sustainability of our town centre.

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The Council is leading on the redevelopment of the London Road – an exciting opportunity to deliver new shopping, leisure and community uses as well as new town centre living.

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Obelisk Way will be restored as a 24hr street as part of the London Road redevelopment.

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The Square is currently undergoing an ÂŁ8m refurbishment and continues to attract new high quality tenants.

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London Road is being remodelled to improve access, including enhancing cycling and public transport options. As it connects with the town centre new landscaping works will give it a dignified boulevard character, responding to the historic Royal Military Academy on the north side.

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Park Street and the Atrium are already a strong focus for the evening economy with a range of restaurants, a Vue Cinema and bowling.

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Comprehensive public realm works to the High Street and Princess Way are planned to significantly improve these key streets.

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The Council has led the redevelopment of Ashwood House, and is delivering new flexible retail and 116 flats in place of an empty office building and former BHS store.

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A V I B R A N T F A M I L Y F R I E N D L Y P L A C E

EMBRACING THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY Shopping and leisure have been transformed by the digital economy. Traditional retailing has been overtaken by businesses offering a richer experience rather than just a transaction.

Concepts such as designers and makers selling directly to the public from workshops and studios, through to micro-breweries and rooftop growing of produce are bringing unique experiences to towns. The Council’s ownership of the shopping centre gives us a uniquely positive position to enable start-up business and to curate our town to make it as exciting and attractive as possible. Annual events such as the classic car festival and the Camberley International Festival also give Camberley a unique draw.

MARKETS &EVENTS As part of our approach to delivering the experience economy, we are improving the spaces needed to host high quality markets and events. This will enable us to establish a year-round programme of markets, festivals and activities, ranging from book fairs to farmers markets and seasonal outdoor shows, all designed to bring people into the town on a regular basis.

EVENING ECONOMY The evening economy is a strong part of Camberley’s attractiveness, aided by a family cinema and bowling offer and a theatre which attracts a great range of acts and shows. All of this in turn supports a growing mix of bars and restaurants, particularly around Park Street.

We want to further develop this aspect of Camberley’s offer. We’re planning to start by opening up Obelisk Way and Princess Way to reconnect the town centre in the evenings. The presence of new residents within the town centre will also help to boost footfall and vitality into the evening, supporting new and existing businesses.

DELIVERING QUALITY

LONDON ROAD DEVELOPMENT The London Road Development is the single biggest opportunity in Camberley and represents a £150 million investment. The Council is working with development partners on schemes to comprehensively renew this part of the town centre. The aim is to create a strong new focus with an appealing frontage to the London Road and high quality streets and spaces which link the High Street and Park Street around the clock.

This will provide a vibrant new space that can host a range of events to entertain and provide great experiences. The London Road Development is also a potential location for civic, cultural and co-working space. New residential development will bring further vitality, taking advantage of a prime town centre location coupled with extensive views of the mature landscape of the Royal Military Academy to the north.

INVESTING IN THE SQUARE The Council recently acquired The Square, which forms the core of Camberley’s shopping offer. Under its control, the centre is now undergoing a £8million refurbishment to renew the public spaces. The centre continues to attract new high quality businesses, ranging from established brands to innovative new names.

2.0 HIGH STREET INVESTING IN 2.2 HARD LANDSCAPE THE HIGH STREET

2.2.9 HARD LANDSCAPE STRATEGY

The High Street is the focus of much of Camberley’s independent shopping, and also home to many of our best historic buildings. We are reducing the impact of cars in the street and investing £4.5m in the public realm to support this. The scheme will create more space for pedestrians and street seating, introducing tree planting and art installations, and completely renewing the paving and street furniture.

Bilateral Bench BLB

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RETAINING OUR INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES The Council is working with local businesses to ensure that Camberley’s independent shops and businesses are retained in the town centre as part of our unique character.

Corten bicycle racks Corten steel tree planters 14

TOWNSHEND LANDSCAPE ARC

CONNECTED TOWN We want to see the two sides of the town centre reconnected, particularly in the evenings.

Obelisk Way will be re-established as a normal street through the London Road Development.

The Council will also explore options to re-open Princess Way, linking Park Street with the High Street and extending access to the car park.

We also recognise the value of high speed communications and are working to deliver 5G around Camberley town centre. This will have great benefits for our businesses, residents and visitors, but will also help the ways in which the Council works.

LINKS TO BUSINESS

REDEVELOPING ASHWOOD HOUSE

Surrey Heath has a significant volume of high value jobs in the local area.

However, most of these are located a little distance away from the town centre.

The Council is working on initiatives to make it easy and attractive for people to make quick trips into town or to visit after work.

The Council has led the project to remodel Ashwood House, formerly the home of BHS with an office above, and in a prominent location connecting Princess Way with Pembroke Broadway and the railway station. The result is a comprehensive remodelling of the building, delivering new flexible ground floor retail spaces with 116 new apartments above. The scheme also improves facilities for bus passengers, enhancing the waiting area and the linkage through to the town centre shops.

CONTACTS JENNY RICKARD Executive Head – Regulatory Surrey Heath Borough Council Surrey Heath House, Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3HD 07795 953784 01276 707815 Jenny.Rickard@surreyheath.gov.uk

LOUISE LIVINGSTON Executive Head – Transformation Surrey Heath Borough Council Surrey Heath House, Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3HD 07825 054866 01276 707403 Louise.Livingston@surreyheath.gov.uk