Piggery Gate enhancement works

Appearance of emerging proposals

Highway engineers have designed a replacement Piggery Gate scheme which is tailored to the updated needs of the university. The proposal not only reduces the width of the gate, but also provides for media and service pipes to be laid beneath the A30 to future-proof the university in relation to better infrastructure and service connections between the two parts of the main campus north and south of the A30.

Background

The following sets the relevance of the proposal to the 2015 Estate Plan and captures the access, movement and parking implications arising from the purchase of Rusham Park.

The 2015 outline planning permission referenced an illustrative Estate Plan showing one possible scenario relating to the distribution of development plots across the campus. The access and movement strategy underpinning the objectives of the Estate Plan included a proposal to create a new four-arm signal-controlled junction at Piggery Gate. This proposal would have resulted in the realignment and rationalisation of the internal campus estate roads at Piggery Gate south of the A30 and the road serving Sutherland House to the north of the A30 being consolidated. This proposal would have increased the distance between, and slightly moved the gateposts either side of Piggery Gate.

Back in 2015, development proposals included a 700-space multi-storey car park within the campus close to Piggery Gate. For the reasons set out below, that car park is no longer required, neither is the scale of the junction works proposed at that time.

Figure 2: 2014/15 Approved Highway Plan relating to Piggery Gate

Two years after outline planning consent was granted for the main campus, the university purchased the former Proctor and Gamble Research Establishment, known as Rusham Park in 2017.  The Rusham Park site included a 408 space decked car park. Planning permission was secured in 2021 for the university to use this car park on the condition that a new campus wide car parking strategy would be prepared and submitted to the council for approval. The university has since secured planning permission for the principle of redeveloping the Rusham Park site for a student village comprising of up to 1,400 student study bedrooms.

The university intends to start using the Rusham Park decked car park to coincide with the first occupation of students within the village. Subject to securing the required detailed permissions, occupation is expected in the summer of 2026.

The global pandemic has reduced parking demand across the campus and the introduction of new ways of teaching and learning (which includes home working and virtual online teaching programmes) will continue. The Rusham Park car park is expected to serve an important part of the university’s future parking strategy and as such, it no longer expects to deliver a major multi-storey car park within the campus close to Piggery Gate.  As such, Piggery Gate is no longer expected to serve the number of potential vehicle journeys originally intended.

During the global pandemic the university engaged Surrey County Council, as the Local Highway Authority, with the result being the reopening of Piggery Gate to traffic.

As part of the proposed Enterprise Centre scheme in 2019, a computer-generated image was used to show how changes to Piggery Gate would be seen in the context of the building. The university intends to follow the principles set out in the Enterprise Centre planning permission to relocate and widen the gateposts, with a stone inset detail to identify Royal Holloway, University of London.

While the university has decided not to progress the Enterprise Centre scheme, the image below presents how the Piggery Gate wall was intended to be in context.

Figure 3: Piggery Gate as envisaged at the time of the Enterprise Centre application in 2018/19. Note: Repositioning of Gateposts and realignment of the wall. Note: The emerging design of the Piggery Gate Junction will now prevent right turn movements out of the campus onto Egham Hill

Consultation

Technical studies relating to the proposed junction works are underway. Once advanced, the university will share emerging proposals ahead of the submission of a planning application. Details will be communicated by means of an information leaflet and an update of this website. Both the leaflet and website will set out how comments can be returned to the university, to whom and by what date. After consideration of the comments received submissions will be made to Runnymede Borough Council as the Local Planning Authority and to Surrey County Council as the Local Highway Authority.

Following submission of the application(s), Runnymede Borough Council will invite comments to be submitted as part of its formal consideration of the proposal. Runnymede will also receive consultee response(s) from the County Council.

Planning application / reserved matters submission

The outline planning permission of April 2015 established the principle, subject to appropriate details, the demolition of existing buildings and the erection of new academic and operational buildings up to a maximum net increase of 55,000m2 and up to 71,128m2 of student accommodation across the campus.

While the outline planning application did not contain details relating to the proposed buildings (these being required to be followed up by means of reserved matters applications in due course) it did set out detailed Piggery Gate junction works relating to the four-arm movement signalled controlled junction. The outline permission established the principle of creating the Piggery Gate junction and therefore the repositioning (widening) of the gate posts in the scheme.

The current reduced scale Piggery Gate works are based on a different set of working assumptions relating to campus car parking strategy: the 700-space multi-storey car park is no longer required. The emerging proposal is seen as a refinement of a principle already established through the outline planning permission.

As such, and reflecting the listed status of the perimeter wall, the following submissions need to be made:

1. Detailed planning application for the partial demolition, repositioning of gateposts, rebuilding of the perimeter wall, engineering and highway works (including works to safeguard pavements and cycle routes) to create the new junction.
2. Listed Building Consent application for works to reposition and rebuild part of the Listed perimeter wall.

Both planning permission and separate listed building consent will be required for the works to proceed. In the event that planning permission is secured, Surrey County Council will undertake detailed Road Safety Audits to ensure that  works are carried out to an acceptable standard.

Timetable

The university is keen to undertake the Piggery Gate works alongside the Southern Link Road project which will see a new internal campus connection made to the sports complex and refinements to the width of the university owned internal service road to facilitate the movement of shuttle buses through the campus and to serve the Rusham Park student village.

Subject to appropriate permissions, the university is looking to undertake the works starting in the Summer of 2023. Works will likely require temporary restrictions along the A30 which will be managed by means of a Construction and Environmental Management Plan prepared and implemented by the appointed contractor in dialogue with Surrey County Council as the local Highway Authority.

Link with other Estate projects and plans

Omnidrome (not a direct project dependency linked to Piggery Gate)

Southern Link Road (not a direct project dependency)

Rusham Park (not a direct project dependency)