During ‘Conversations at Clerkenwell’ I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with First Sukpaiboon, New London Architecture, Simon Ryan, Projects Director - Ballymore, Robert Westcott, Studio Director - Civic Engineers, Sophie Beagles, Principal Regeneration Officer - London Borough of Ealing and Krista Fieldhouse, Partner - Gerald Eve. Together we reflected on this time of turbulence for high-streets, and the schemes and projects our companies have been strategically developing to revitalise town centres and aid high-streets in their recovery. 

From a personal perspective, I’m very positive about the future of high streets and how it will evolve in the post-pandemic era. 

Benoy is just about to finish a project in Woking, which is the culmination of about 10 to 12 years of hard work. As lead design consultant on the project, Benoy has worked to engage local people and bring a town centre to life. Delivering two new public squares, including retail, residential and public realm, the programme is providing a boost to community confidence and enhancing Woking’s commercial prospects. 

Similarly, Benoy’s project at nearby Wokingham saw us working across two sites – Peach Place and Elms Fields, as part of a wider regeneration project instigated by Wokingham Borough Council in the face of a failing retail and leisure offer, lack of town centre living and competition from nearby competing centres such as Bracknell and Reading. 

 

Closely following Wokingham Borough Council’s vision, Benoy reimagined the town centre as a thriving destination for commerce and urban living; with modern retail formats, F&B, leisure and a significant quantum of residential across two mixed-use developments at Peach Place and Elms Field.

 

For me, the importance of both of these projects has been improving local infrastructure and public realm to create vibrant town centres where people want to be. It’s about attracting third-party investment while ensuring that places like Woking or Wokingham, far from being just a gateway to other areas, become destinations in their own right.