The site is located on the corner of Banister Road and The Avenue in Southampton and in its current state, is a Vauxhall Car dealership which transitions the residential quarter of Bedford Place (to the south) to the Avenue throughfare to the city and surrounding businesses.

The site straddles The Avenue Conservation Area along its eastern boundary and is bound to the east by mature trees, a new Lidl store to the north and apartments, further apartments to the west separated by a tree planting buffer and domestic scale dwellings along Brighton Road to the south.

A mixed context of houses, apartment blocks, shops, a hotel, a major throughfare and substantial mature tree planting create a diverse mix and feel to the site in terms of massing, material, footprint, scale and setting.

The site's close proximity to residential units results in over looking becoming a prime consideration with any new development. The prominent corner position and knuckle between The Avenue and Banister Road dictates a development of high visibility and therefore high quality to the public realm. The presence of mature trees to the perimeter requires due consideration as well as the several junctions, access points and blind corner to the west when considering a proposed access into the scheme Building height ranges from 2-4 stories in the immediate context. The Conservation Area straddles the eastern part of the site although as demonstrated on pages 9 & 10, locally listed are c.100m apart between the dense tree planting.