Stanwell Road, Ashford

Proposals for the redevelopment of the Hitchcock and King builders' merchants off Stanwell Road, Ashford TW15 3DT are currently at draft design stage.

This consultation website has been launched on behalf of Carve Property who are working with Cinch Self Storage, a highly rated specialist operator of self-storage facilities already operating in around 50 locations including nearby Woking. The aim is to help local residents, neighbours and other interest groups find out more about the emerging plans and provide their feedback prior to the finalisation of a planning application.

Below we describe the current site and set out the key features of the emerging proposals. We are keen to hear the views of the local community and we have set up two different ways for you to give us your feedback.

Existing condition

Located off Stanwell Road, adjacent to the Lidl supermarket which opened in October 2022, the proposed site is currently used as a builders’ merchants operated by Hitchcock and King. The site contains significant stocks of building materials and timber with customers either visiting to collect or arranging delivery.

Hitchcock and King have decided that the branch in Ashford is no longer suitable for their purposes, having also closed down their previous operation which had been located on the new Lidl site.

The broadly self-contained site is bounded by the railway line and station to the south, Church Road to the east, the Scott Freeman Green (a protected open space) to the north and the large Lidl retail store adjacent to the east.

The nearest residential properties are found to the south of the railway line and station and these range in height from two to five-storeys. There are significant separation distances in excess of 40 metres between the nearest homes and the proposed development site, which is not within a designated Conservation Area.

To the east and north are properties found on Station Crescent with their gardens extending back onto Stanwell Road. The separation distances here are even greater and there are significant trees and vegetation both on the boundaries of these properties and also within Scott Freeman Green which offer extensive screening of the site.

Largely flat, the existing site comprises two warehouse buildings, a storage yard and car parking. Church Road, which forms the eastern boundary of the site is significantly higher and means that there is quite a degree of concealment from the nearest road. Similarly, the site is also lower than Stanwell Road.

Given its previous use, the site attracted both vehicular trips by customers and employees and also delivery vehicles.

The single access to the site is via Stanwell Road, which also serves the recently developed Lidl supermarket. The entrance has a wide splay to ensure good visibility for vehicles visiting and leaving the site.

Key features of the proposed development

The proposed approach for the site is demolish the existing building at the site and replace it with a modern and attractive purpose-built self-storage facility. The footprint of the proposed building will be 25,000 sq. ft (2,322 sq. m)

Located on the southern part of the site, the proposed new building will be four storeys (approximately 11.5 metres high) and is located in a similar position to the existing buildings, framing the railway station platform along with the Lidl store. The potential for three internal mezzanine floors means that the total proposed space in the building will be 100,000 sq. ft (9,290 sq. m)

A glazed reception area marks the entrance to the storage facility on the north western corner of the proposed building. On the south eastern corner of the proposed building facing towards Church Street, further glazing will feature, offering a view of the internal stairwell and bringing visual interest.

The proposed building will have a metal façade which helps create a dynamic elevation. There are multiple options available for coatings, colours, finishes (matt or reflective). Proposing metal, specifically aluminium, provides an opportunity to utilise a material which is durable and highly sustainable i.e. 100% recyclable and can be reused without any loss of its natural qualities. Some grey brickwork is also proposed at lower levels to complement nearby existing buildings.

Cinch applies a high level of professional management to its sites and staff will be on-site during normal office hours. Security will be assured through CCTV monitoring.

The rest of the ground floor will contain storage units of various sizes to meet customer needs while the remaining floors will exclusively house storage units along the perimeter and internal areas. Three separate stair cores provide access and escape.

Two goods lifts serving all floors are accessed via the loading bay area on the northern side of the proposed building. The loading bay will be shuttered.

The building will be designed with energy efficiency in mind ensuring that it has a low carbon footprint achieving an ‘excellent’ sustainability rating.

Modern self-storage facilities meet the needs of both local residents and small businesses. Although the split varies from site to site, customers tend to be broadly 60% domestic and 40% commercial users. Small businesses in particular value self-storage as it offers a cost effective and easy way to hold stock or supplies. The storing of dangerous or hazardous substances is prohibited.

If you want to get a feel for what happens at a typical Cinch site, you can read more here. Cinch is highly valued by their customers and enjoys a 5 star rating on Trustpilot.

Access and traffic

The existing access via Stanwell Road to the west will be the singular means of reaching the new facility. Self-storage facilities are lightly trafficked as goods and materials tend to be stored on-site for extended periods of time.

An assessment of vehicular trip attraction indicates that the proposed development with its three internal mezzanine floors could attract in the order of 19 vehicle movements (11 arrivals and 8 departures) per hour during the busiest morning peak hour period. This will compare favourably with the builders’ merchant use which generates 12 vehicle movements at the same peak hour and not be detrimental to the operation of the local highway network.

The type of vehicles that will visit the site will be customers’ private cars or light vans. The largest expected vehicle on only an occasional basis would be to collect refuse and the layout of the proposed development has been designed to allow for safe manouevring.

The loading bay will have a number of parking spaces and located on the northern part of the site.

The low intensity nature of self-storage in terms of traffic generation means that large numbers of car parking spaces are not required. Overall, 19 parking spaces (including one disabled space), a Sheffield stand for five bicycles, and a manoeuvring area for refuse lorries are provided. Three of the parking spaces will incorporate electric vehicle chargers.

Parking/loading bays are provided to accommodate predicted levels of demand based upon extensive experience of other similar sized self-storage facilities operated by Cinch.

Security is very important for Cinch and their customers. A moveable barrier positioned at an improved entrance in a similar location to the existing entrance to the existing builders’ merchants will be installed, appropriate lighting and out of hours monitoring by CCTV.