To receive a presentation on the outline proposals for the redevelopment of the Central Car Park and Maltings in Salisbury and to hear about how you can get involved in the formal consultation process that is likely to take place later in the year.
Developers Stanhope will be present to provide information on the outline proposals and progress, answer questions and explain the next steps.
Minutes:
Director of Stanhope, Gary Bourne thanked the Area Board for holding the meeting, and thanked those in attendance for taking the time to come along to hear the presentation.
Gary explained that huge importance would be given to establishing the most solid foundation possible for the project. It would require time and a huge amount of effort, including ongoing dialogue with Wiltshire Council regarding a very wide range of issues, very detailed research about the needs of the local market, complex discussions with potential tenants, investigations into the conditions on-site and of course consultation with the local community.
The Central Car Park and Maltings has long been designated as a site suitable for retail-led development and this designation was firmly established in local planning policy. The site was also one of the priority areas identified for sustainable regeneration by the Salisbury Vision.
The proposed retail focus was captured in the South Wiltshire Core Strategy, which formed the basis on which developers were invited to tender and enter into a legal agreement with the Council to develop the site.
Planning policy plays a critical role in shaping what should and should not be delivered on the site. For example, the principle that long-stay car parking is to be removed from the Central Car Park was established within Wiltshire Council’s Car Parking Strategy and had also been Council policy since the days of the former Salisbury District Council.
There would continue to be well over 500 short-term parking spaces on the site and Sainsbury’s car park would be kept in the phase one proposals, which cover the Central Car Park, but not The Maltings. The existing car park would be comprehensively upgraded and split over multiple levels. The intention was to include a bus and coach interchange for drop-off and pick-up on the western edge of the site, which would be a valuable asset to the city’s tourist industry.
The current situation
Following the signing of the Development Agreement with the Council, Stanhope had been working hard behind the scenes. The wide-ranging discussions with the Council, supported by monthly progress meetings, had covered very many aspects of the project, including the future of the library, which would inevitably have implications for the planning application.
In the case of the library, Wiltshire Council was currently exploring the options for providing an improved facility. Different options were currently being considered and assessed. Following this, local people would be asked by the Council to comment on any proposals. This important piece of work would need to be completed before proceeding, as the future location and form of the library would have implications for the development of the masterplan.
Gauging interest from the retail market was also an essential part of the process and discussions between Stanhope and prospective occupiers had been taking place. Understanding the needs of retailers and the local market was vital to the long-term success of the redevelopment and Stanhope had commissioned independent consultants to undertake detailed analysis to support this process.
To gain a better understanding of the site itself a series or routine ground condition investigations were carried out on-site during summer 2013.
Gary provided information on Stanhope’s experience in Hereford, on the Old Market retail and leisure redevelopment which opens in spring 2014, bringing shops, restaurants and bars, a cinema and much more to the heart of this historic city. This development had been 95% pre-let, which was a significant achievement.
Next steps
Following further public consultation later this year Stanhope aimed to further evolve the masterplan for the site. Ideally, submitting a planning application in 2015 and, following planning permission, look to move forward with a build-time of approximately two years, Gary added that they would do what was right for Salisbury and only move forward at the right time, with the right scheme and with the right high-quality tenants.
Simon and Paul – Panter Hudspith Architects
The architects had over 40 years experience of working on regeneration projects in cathedral cities including York, Exeter, Cambridge and Bradford.
The board was shown a series of slides of examples of other projects around the country, with information on the types of challenges which had been overcome on each project.
Three considerations when planning the development were:
1. The size of the site in relation to the rest of Salisbury.
2. The location of the site within the city centre, and proximity of the Cathedral
3. The water which runs through the city.
Salisbury has interesting narrow streets and alleyways with several different types of spaces, including pedestrian areas, cycle ways, and roads. The development would be modern but respectful of materials in existence already.
Some of the aspects which had changed since earlier consultation include:
· The inclusion of a coach drop off and collection interchange site
· Increasing car parking spaces
· Enhanced flood protection
· A mixture of housing, rather than solely town houses
· The location of the main unit
Kate from Redwood
Kate emphasise that Stanhope fully embraced the need for public consultation to inform and develop its proposals for the site.
Kate had worked very closely with Gary on other city centre regeneration schemes including the Old Market, Hereford scheme, experience there had shown beyond any doubt just how valuable meaningful and open consultation can be. In Hereford this involved local politicians of all stripes, dozens of stakeholder groups, businesses, schools and the youth and literally thousands of local people.
Consultation as a process, can take place over months and years, is open to all and has real scope to take on board feedback where possible and helpful to do so.
Just over a year ago, at a large public exhibition at the Guildhall, Stanhope was introduced and some of the early thinking about the redevelopment was presented. The view was that it was better to begin the process of consultation and to get feedback as early as possible, even if we inevitably didn’t have a final scheme to present. Good progress had been made since then, however the next main public exhibition would be held once a suitable level of detail was available to present.
That exhibition had been a really constructive first step. We were delighted that well over 1,000 people visited it and that almost 350 took the time to provide constructive written feedback. This included information about:
· The frequency of visits to Salisbury (a significant majority said they visited three or more times per week)
· The popularity of other competing local centres (such as Southampton)
· The things that would make people visit Salisbury more (new and improved shops, and high quality restaurants and leisure facilities featured highly)
· The kind of things that would encourage people to come into Salisbury more in the evening (better car parking and new restaurants were popular responses)
· How people were particularly keen to see improvements to the river frontages.
Following the exhibition consultation continued, we had meetings with dozens of people and stakeholder groups. Since we began our local dialogue this had included conversations with:
· Local elected representatives: including senior councillors, ward councillors, city council councillors, John Glen MP, and of course Salisbury Area Board
· Local organisations, businesses, site neighbours and interested individuals: including the Civic Society, City Centre Management/BID, Cathedral and attending the South Wiltshire Business Expo
· The media: including regular contact over the last couple of years with the Salisbury Journal, Spire FM and BBC Wiltshire, with proactive contact to raise awareness of key milestones, such as the signing of the Development Agreement last year.
The local knowledge and thoughtful input from all of these people and organisations – had proven extremely valuable. The message received loud and clear from all of this dialogue is that the local community is excited by the opportunity, we now have to shape the future of the site, but that redevelopment must be sensitive to the needs of the wider city, that the site’s relationship to it will be crucial and that everything possible must be done to make sure that the benefits of the significant investment planned are felt by all – including independent businesses.
Consultation would continue this year and we will proactively seek further discussions with those mentioned and many others. We will however seek to increase the breadth and depth of consultation.
One of the ways we aim to increase the breadth of consultation is by giving young people who were under-represented at the public exhibition, the opportunity to have their say. They are the future of Salisbury, the people who will live with a transformed Central Car Park and Maltings in the years ahead.
The current intention is to hold a further public exhibition in autumn 2014. As with the previous one, this would be very well-publicised in advance, be staffed throughout by Stanhope’s project team who would be on hand to discuss the information shown. There will be an opportunity to provide written feedback which we will give very careful consideration to.
In the next few months we will also be working on a website to keep people updated with plans and will also be sending news bulletins through the website and through the press. Contact and feedback forms were circulated at the meeting for people to provide their contact details, to receive future information.
GARY BOURNE, DIRECTOR, STANHOPE
The Maltings and Central Car Park redevelopment could act as a catalyst for regeneration,driving growth and benefiting the city as a whole. Salisbury would see high-quality new shops, restaurants and leisure opportunities; new homes; 500 to 700 full-time equivalent jobs; new and improved public spaces; enhanced connections to the Market Place, historic Salisbury and the wider area; the River Avon opened up as a feature, creating an exceptional waterside environment – all of this can be achieved with sensitive design that protects Salisbury’s unique character and enhances the existing tourism offer.
As a result, Salisbury’s position as a sub-regional shopping and cultural centre could be strengthened, the significant spend currently being lost to competing local centres could be reduced and visitor dwell times can be increased, benefiting independent businesses and the night-time economy.
Comments and questions were then received, these included:
· If you remove the long stay car parking spaces there would be nowhere for people to park when they go to London for the day, other than the train station car park which is usually full. Also to see a play and have a meal takes you over the 3 hour car parking limit. Answer: Allan Creedy, Head of Sustainable Transport, Wiltshire Council: Transport forms a key part of the decision making process of this project. We cannot provide detailed answers at this stage, we are attempting to be as consistent as possible with existing policy. It has been part of the policy of the former Salisbury District Council and now of Wiltshire Council, that we do not have car parks full up with vehicles of those using the train to travel to London. There will be a significant number of car parking spaces, however these would be tailored to the retail needs of the city. Parking will form part of the ongoing consultation.
· Do you have a timeframe of when the planning application will be presented? Answer: There will be a masterplan for the whole site, however we will focus on the early stage works and what is deliverable in phase 1.
· Will the plans on display tonight be available online? Answer: The slides shown during the presentation will be available online as part of the minutes.
· Have you had any feedback from residents of other cathedral cities once the work has been completed? Answer: The Mayor of York gave us good feedback following the completed works there. As part of the process to chose a development partner, Wiltshire Council liaised with people from the communities of some of the other development cities.
· One of the first things that tourists want when they step of the coach is to use the toilets, will there be public toilets available near the coach interchange? Answer: There will be WC facilities. We have carried out a road survey and spoken to the coach and bus companies, it is our aim to encourage coach operators to stay in the city longer.
· When I drive my elderly parents to town, it usually takes us about 4 hours to get around, a 3 hour maximum stay in the car park would not be long enough. Answer: This is something that we would be looking at as part of the parking strategy.
· Will you be using British products and would there be opportunities for young people to work on the development? Answer: Yes we are passionate about it and yes, there will be youth development opportunities.
· Has there been discussion with South West (SW) Trains regarding the parking for the train station. Young people are not interested in which shops you have here they want fast trains to jobs in London. Answer: We will be having discussions with SW Trains. The long term plan for the car park does not to cater for the needs of the train users.
· Which route would the construction vehicles use during the two phases? Answer: There are issues with site traffic, we would look into the options in detail and would enter into discussions with key stakeholder groups. There would be set delivery times to the site. This forms part of the consultation process, we will address any issues which arise.
· What percentage of the houses in the development would be affordable? Answer: We would look at the affordable housing figures shown in the Core Strategy, the exact figure is not known yet, this will form part of the masterplan.
· Why does the revised plan now include a coach park? Answer: During the consultation carried out previously, a coach park was requested, so we went out and surveyed the coach companies. We are listening to what people are telling us, and it seemed sensible to include a coach interchange in the project.
· The Transport Group wasnted to see a coach interchange, so we are happy to see that one has been included within the design. What car parking provisions are the retailers requiring? Answer: We are carrying out detailed analysis at present. The new development will not be completely retail, we are happy to engage with your group. There would be 500 – 600 new spaces in phase 1.
· Does the plan provide for any other business sectors? Answer: There could be, but residential is the key, but we are dictated by the Core Strategy and by Planning criteria.
· Can you guarantee that the Library will stay in the city centre? Answer: Yes we are looking at a number of options within the central city centre. As soon as we have the options, this will be part of the consultation.
· Are there any plans for the Playhouse and City Hall? Answer: The council is looking at what can be done to City Hall as it is a War Memorial. We are in discussions with the Playhouse. Phase 1 would be the central car park section of the site and phase 2 would look at the rest of the development.
· Do you have any stakeholders at present? Answer: No not at present, we have to attract new retailers to come into the city.
· With regards to timings and your approach to quality, there are other developments going on in Salisbury which may or may not have an impact on this. The longer this site is sat there, Salisbury does not see any economic benefit. Answer: We are resourcing the project totally, we are incentivised to crack on with the project, but it is a completely privately funded scheme.
· Do we need more shops in Salisbury, what are your thoughts on internet shopping? Answer: Due to the changing nature of the retail environment, things have changed. Larger retailers are reducing the size of their larger outlets due to internet trade. It is a case of capturing a balance and bringing new opportunities into Salisbury.
· Will the site require pile driven foundations, if so how long will the work take? Answer: It is very likely piling will be needed on this site. There would be strict time restraints and modern high tech piling equipment would be used.