These businesses are subsidiaries of Bowmer + Kirkland and form the B+K Group
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The development at Walnut Tree Close, Guildford will provide 361 bedrooms for student residential accommodation within four 5-storey blocks overlooking the River Wey and Guildford Cricket Club.
The accommodation is a mix of single bedroom studio flats and 7-bedroom cluster flats that share kitchen amenities. As well as ensuite bedrooms the development contains shared amenities included cinema, gym, laundry and lounges.
The existing site comprised a motor dealership and old office buildings located by the River Wey within an area of flood risk. The ground was left in a contaminated state and ground remediation works were required to remove ground water, hydrocarbons and asbestos.
The flood risk issues applied to the site required a complex flood deference strategy that was required to work for the completed site but also to provide defence during the construction works. This included ensuring the flood capacity of the site was maintained during groundworks and building levels were constructed to allow for the safe flow of flood water through the site at all times.
Licences to build were negotiated with the Environment Agency and National Trust to allow for works neighbouring the river and tow path.
The layout of the scheme provides each block on a raised plateau with interconnected culverts mitigating the flood risk. An arrangement of sustainable drainage channels and weirs hold the flood waters on site to avoid further down stream flooding at high water levels. The perimeter of the site is formed with a landscape bund to help retain this capacity.
