A vacant site in the centre of St John’s could be brought back to life as a residential development.

Woking Borough Council has received a planning application, PLAN/2026/0244, seeking “Demolition of existing detached property (former Pet Doctors) and erection of new three-storey residential apartments block comprising of eight units. With associated parking & amenity space.”

The site is at 1 Robin Hood Road, St John’s, GU21 8SP.

The supporting planning statement, prepared by JHA Architecture Ltd on behalf of Group 3 Properties and which accompanies the full planning application, notes: “The existing site is situated adjacent to the roundabout connecting Robin Hood Road and St John’s Road.

“The northern boundary is predominantly defined by typical two-storey residential dwellings, while the southern boundary along Hermitage Road is largely commercial in nature, including uses such as a barbershop and restaurants.

“The site was formerly a veterinary surgery ‘Pet Doctors’, [which] however, has been closed since circa. 2023. The site is currently a two-storey building. It is proposed to demolish the existing building as a part of the planning permission.

“The site has been vacant for a considerable period and is now in a poor and deteriorating condition, having suffered from prolonged neglect and lack of maintenance. The remaining structure presents an opportunity for appropriate redevelopment and rationalisation, enabling the site to be brought back into beneficial use.

“The proposed development consists of three-storey development to comprise of eight apartments with dedicated parking and external amenity space. Including the demolition of the existing building, which has been associated with ongoing antisocial behaviour in the area.”

The proposal is for - ground floor: two residential flats, refuse store and secure bike store; first floor: three residential apartments; second floor: three residential apartments. The external area to have eight new parking spaces and amenity space.

The supporting statement adds: “The application site is accessed via the adjacent no-through road, Barrack Path, which is subject to a 30mph speed limit.

“The existing access arrangement to the building will be retained as part of the proposals. Internally, the site layout has been designed to provide clear and functional car parking spaces, enabling efficient and convenient manoeuvring.

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“Having regard to the modest scale of the development and the retention of the existing access, the proposals are not anticipated to generate a level of traffic that would give rise to any material impact on the surrounding highway network or local amenity.”