The local authority was seeking a development partner to regenerate this site, which is located between two railway lines as they converge a short distance away at Basingstoke Station. The railway forms two of the site’s three boundaries with the other being the town’s main artery road, the Ringway, which together make Gresley Road as an island site.

At the time of this study Waitrose were looking for a site to locate a new food store in the town and Kilo Properties established a brief for a mixed-use scheme of commercial, leisure and residential uses with Waitrose as the key tenant.

The development faced a number of challenges that were mainly due to it being an island site. These related to pedestrian access to the town centre, the narrow form of the site along its longest part and noise generated from two railway lines and traffic noise from a major dual carriageway.

The conceptual layout of the scheme placed the retail service area alongside the roadway which gave a buffering distance between the commercial accommodation and the traffic noise and ensuring the development faced towards the town centre – assisting a desire to create a close and accessible link. A large landscaped public open space is located in the middle of the proposal and is designed on a podium with car parking tucked beneath - the retail experience outside of the shops was then guaranteed to avoid conflict between people and cars. A pedestrian prioritised design allows free movement and safe occupation of a pleasant landscape.

A combined cycle and footpath connect both ends of the scheme and integrates into the town centre. Residential apartment blocks are located alongside and form a series of oval shaped structures that increase in height towards the centre of the scheme. They are arranged in a fanned out pattern to optimise the south facing orientation and maximise the excellent views that are available across the countryside beyond.

Ian Blake designed Gresley Road Triangle whilst at Sutton Griffin Architects