Planning approval for Walton Court

Planning has been granted for Walton Court, a major residential scheme that will replace the former Birds Eye corporate headquarters that stood vacant for a decade in Walton-on-Thames.

Designed by Broadway Malyan and Gillespies for client Crest Nicholson, the new development will provide 375 new apartments with views overlooking a series of communal courtyard gardens.

The architectural language of the scheme is simple, legible and timeless, preserving the repetition and rhythm of the existing elevation and the geometric layout of the former building. The scheme is focussed around a central ‘jewel’ building with an enclosed formal courtyard that echoes the courtyards that once stood there. The surrounding residential buildings are linked together through a series of brick pavilions.

The inspiration for the public realm and landscape design has drawn on influences from the existing mature landscape and the strong geometry of the existing Birds Eye masterplan. The design of the streetscapes along Station Avenue establish an elegant and powerful landscape setting for the central building with an underlying sense of arrival. A series of streets and spaces lined with new and existing mature trees and planting provides a legible and pedestrian-friendly streetscape for the new residential community.