Spelthorne Masterplan

Establishing a long-term vision for Spelthorne and Staines-upon-Thames with a Design Code and Masterplan informed by local people and the borough’s aspirations for a thriving, sustainable town.

Client Spelthorne Borough Council
Sector High Streets & Communities
Location Spelthorne, Surrey

Working as part of a team with long-term collaborators David Lock Associates (DLA), Fathom provided architectural input for the emerging design code commissioned by Spelthorne Borough Council in Surrey.

Working collaboratively with David Lock Associates and Feria Urbanism, the process combined planning policy, urban design and meaningful community engagement to produce a practical set of guidelines for future development.

Following public consultation in August 2025, the design code proposals were presented to the Environment and Sustainability Committee and approved by the council for adoption.

The Design Code provides clarity and consistency for applicants and decision-makers, and has been developed to support the borough’s aspirations to embed high-quality design into future growth.

Owen Reading, David Lock Associates
“We’ve worked with Fathom on multiple projects over the years, ranging in scale and type. Their talented team has a place-first approach, ask the right questions and offer creative solutions without losing sight of what is practical. They are collaborative, committed and genuinely enjoyable to work with.”

Embedding quality and richness through Design Codes

In developing the Design Code, we needed to understand existing policy, local concerns and aspirations, and gain detailed knowledge of sites across the town centre.

Our collaborative approach was informed by Staines Development Framework, the Local Plan and workshops with local people.

Focusing on Staines-upon-Thames – a key area for residential densification in the borough – the initial study stress-tested density assumptions across several town centre sites, identifying opportunities to maximise provision of new homes within the site allocations identified in the Local Plan.

Our second piece of input addressed a key local concern around bland and flat buildings. Following detailed research, we provided guidance on architectural design and detailing to achieve an appropriate richness of depth, texture and visual interest across all new buildings.

Adding richness

Giving local people a voice

Prior to developing the masterplan, the collaborative team facilitated a charrette to ensure future proposals would reflect local character, priorities and aspirations.

A community design charrette was held with demographically representative members of the Spelthorne Citizens’ Panel to explore local ambitions for four key sites within the town centre.

Working in small groups, designers and participants focused on individual sites to examine the qualities and characteristics that define Staines and should inform its future development.

Through this collaborative process, the groups identified places, spaces, and connections most in need of attention, while testing emerging ideas against the practical realities of how they would function on the ground.

The charrette also provided an opportunity to challenge proposals that may appear compelling in principle but could prove less effective in practice, helping to build a shared sense of ambition and a clear direction for the masterplan as it moves forward.

Accessible diagrams and visualisations were produced for each site to capture the ideas generated, the priorities agreed, and the tensions identified. Each site was then brought together to establish an overarching vision for the masterplan, ready to be tested with greater rigour.

From design codes to masterplan

The next stage was integrating feedback from the Spelthorne Citizens’ Panel charrette with the adopted Design Code to apply ideas to the overall masterplan and site-specific studies.

Spanning multiple key sites, the masterplan will identify opportunities for growth and positive change in the town centre, including the intensification of housing provision.

Responding to the town’s strengths, this stage of work will set out a sustainable vision for the future of Staines-upon-Thames, and ensure that planned growth delivers improvements for residents, businesses and visitors.

The masterplan will focus on street and block layouts, massing principles, landscape and open space, potential capacity, and key delivery and infrastructure considerations.

Our role is to support DL Borough Council and the local community, FA’s engagement with Spelthorneand ensure that masterplan outcomes are carried through to detailed site-level proposals and ultimately prepared for inclusion in a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

Acting as a material consideration in the determination of planning applications, the SPD will provide guidance in support of Local Plan policy for Staines.