2 April 2021 –Gorse Ride shortlisted for a Housing Design Award!

Gorse Ride, the low energy housing development in Wokingham has been shortlisted for a Housing Design Award!

Ubu were appointed by Wokingham Housing Ltd ( a subsidiary of Wokingham Council) as part of a team led by Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt, to develop a regeneration masterplan for Gorse Ride, a post war housing estate. Originally built as temporary housing, the council owned homes are now below the standard the council would like, and the masterplan recommended the redevelopment of the estate along with demolition of existing housing. 

Working in close collaboration with Wokingham Borough Council, residents and the local community, the masterplan celebrates diversity and creates a proposal for affordable and social tenure-led development for the Gorse Ride Estate. The phased regeneration will take place over a number of years, transforming the estate into a place local people can be proud of.

Plans include the replacement of 178 dwellings that have fallen into disrepair and cannot be suitably retrofitted. The design is focused around a large village green that acts as the ‘heart’ of the new community. Green corridors and pocket parks provide open and safe spaces where the community can come together. One and two-storey houses are located around the site’s perimeter, with three and four-storey apartment buildings positioned at the centre to provide passive surveillance.

Gorse Ride – Housing Design Awards (hdawards.org)