Dorking placemaking

Context Office has been working in Dorking, Surrey, investigating potential improvements to the town centre. This characterful market town has many assets, but the main civic streets are dominated by vehicles and it can be a daunting place to navigate on foot or by bicycle. We engaged with local people, high street businesses, the district and county councils to grasp issues and ambitions. We developed ideas for increased pedestrian space, art, lighting, tree planting and locations for small events. Layouts were developed with transport engineers NRP to unlock the public realm potential for all users without impacting on important road network capacity. Initial proposals and options were put to the town through a web survey to shape the next stages of design. We helped our client define the structure, images and questions to make information accessible for the general public and to spark debate. The digital engagement had over 350 detailed responses. Dorking Town Partnership has adopted our ideas within its renewal plan for the next five years.

Client: Dorking Town Partnership BID
Project team: NRP

Dorking High Street, showing increased pedestrian space for events, new trees, greenery and crossings

Dorking High Street, current conditions

Context Office looked at the historic town centre, its setting and wider connections to identify opportunities

Crossing the High Street currently feels unsafe

Narrow pavements mean the town centre is difficult to access for many people

Although the surrounding countryside is a destination for cyclists, riding a bike within Dorking can be intimidating

Unnecessarily wide roads squeeze pedestrians, cyclists and business activity on to limited footways

Ideas for South Street include a pavement terrace, seating, planting for seasonal interest and biodiversity

Overview of proposals for Dorking High Street

At Rose Hill new public space could be re-claimed from the road

Dorking placemaking

Client: Dorking Town Partnership BID
Project team: NRP