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Boardwalk :: Forum List The Phoenix Quarter General Discussion

<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >> John Stockdale   Phoenix Action - 2006/04/14 14:51 Charles Style has indicated that he does not wish to continue a dialogue unless it is with people who agree with him. Fair enough. In the end we all have to make up our minds whether what we are being offered is acceptable or not. On the basis of what I know -- the loss of jobs and businesses, the city centre density, the height and type of the proposed housing, the lack of a binding commitment to provide a minimum 25% of affordable homes, the traffic and parking implications, the effect on independent traders of the relocation of the commercial centre away from the High Street etc -- I just don’t want it. It’s way beyond being put right by some simple adjustments. So, I am now going to organise Phoenix Action to fight Angel Property every inch of the way. Anyone interested in joining this group should contact me on 01273 476151.   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. C M Darcy   Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/14 15:48 Well done, John. This is exactly what's needed. Count me in   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. charles style   Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/14 18:56 Actually John Stockdale is twisting my words yet again , I said I was not going to continue an open dialogue with him as he keeps ignoring what i just said then rewording it to get people to think he knows best. I am more than happy to have a dialogue with people who do not agree with me, that is what a dialogue is all about. I just do not like the dishonest way John deals with dialogue. We will proceed with our consultations with local people and not be disuaded by the backward looking views of John Stockdale. The fact is that a lot of people in this town agree with what we are proposing and agree that the area needs regeneration. This is a brownfield site that has no buildings of any architectural merit. It underperforms in terms of being a business location and rather than as John keeeps suggesting having a detrimental effect on existing businesses what we are proposing actually will have a dramatic effect in improving the economic life of Lewes and it's existing businesses by encouraging people to shop here, to locate their businesses here and to live here. All the other details he has decided he does not like , such as the height and type of residential buildings will be looked at in great detail in our planning application as will traffic and parking all of which have been carefully considered. Lewes is the County Town and as such is more important as a centre for the county for everything to stay the same forever. It needs new facilities and new businesses and new residents and if some people wish it to remain as a town set in aspic forever looking to the past, for everything from the type of industry here, to the retail and cultural facilities here they are ignoring the needs not only of their neighbours but the district , county and country.   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. charles style   Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/15 21:09 In further response to John Stockdale's decision that he does not like our development and feels he needs to form an action group to fight it. I felt I ought to reply further to the claims he has made that he says have forced him to try to fight us every inch of the way and would point out that he does not need to fight us as we are already listening to all the various groups and factions in Lewes and can answer his criticism. I will answer his points one by one. 1]loss of jobs and businesses. firstly jobs: because our proposal includes the creation of 75000 sq ft of new offices including the Sussex Innovation centre. 110,000 sq ft of new industrial space and 90,000 sq ft of new retail, restaurant and leisure space the net result is not a loss of jobs but an increase of more than 800 new jobs. secondly loss of businesses: we are negotiating to relocate most of the viable businesses on Pheonix to new purpose built industrial space in Malling Brooks. I cannot list the businesses who will be moving yet because it is not fair to them to divulge this information at this point. But I would refer John to the letter I just wrote to Lewes Matters website in the economic section of the website. We will also find a home in the Phoenix Quarter development for the Gym that is on site and does such a good service for local people. We are not cherry picking the high tech companies for relocation mainly because there are no high tech companies on site. We are however planning to attract new high tech industry to Lewes by including the Sussex Innovation Centre in the new office space constructed. 2] city centre density: I have previously suggested John look at the S.E.R.D.P website on density., which i believe he has misinterpreted. The density we are suggesting is entirely in line with guidelines and will be checked by Lewes District Council, it will also be in line with all the new development that is going on in Lewes and other similar towns and is not something that a pressure group as suggested can really influence, the density is either right or it is not, we will know soon when we get feedback from the Council. 3]Height and types of buildings. 1] height, the height proposed is going to be subject to comment from English Heritage and Lewes District Council and will be viewed by all local residents once our application is lodged. We will do a 3d computer massing study as well as a physical model and have only not yet done this because the scheme is still evolving and will need to be finalised before this model is completed. type of building: i do not know what John means by type of building, but i can confirm that the scheme will include a mix of commercial and residential uses, flats, houses and public and private communal space as well as some private gardens. 3] a guarantee of minimum 25% affordable housing, I have previously stated that our aim is to provide a minimum 25% affordable housing , subject to viability and that the final percentage will be by agreement with Lewes District Council based on the viability studies we will produce and that the Council can have independently checked. I stick to this statement , but would add that as we are close to agreement on the affordable housing provision with the preffered housing associations, the exact percentage and mix of affordable housing will be included in our application and will be made clear to all. We will not be doing what the most recent major scheme to gain planning did , which is to say we cannot provide any affordable housing due to viability reasons. This scheme in Southdowns road for 125 flats and 30,000 sq ft of offices was passed by Lewes District Council and the Government Office for the South East with zero affordable housing last year after the viability analysis proved that affordable housing could not be produced as well as the creation of new employment space and decontamination of the land. 4]traffic and parking: the traffic study we have commisssioned as well as the traffic model that East Sussex County Council have completed will allow the exact traffic impacts to be understood. Though I do know that the new traffic management scheme that is possible if our scheme goes ahead will do a lot to improve the traffic in the area and will keep traffic off the small surrounding streets. parking: the proposed multi story car park at the entrance to the site will be of great help to the Cliffe area as the spaces will no be used for visitors to lewes generally and not just visitors to the Phoenix Quarter, this car parking is very well received by the Chamber of Commerce and Friends of Lewes as it provides a focus for car parking which keeps cars out of the historic core of the town and enables cars to park as soon as they enter the town. residents car parking: we will be looking to provide car clubs and a hopper bus to encourage residents to either do without a car or to not use it when in town. we will also be controlled as to the number of cars allowed by the rules set down by the highways department of East Sussex County Council. 5] independent traders and the effect of moving the focus away from the High street: we have commissioned a retail impact assessment to look at all the impacts of our proposals on the existing retailers, we have also been guided by a study commissioned by Lewes district Council. We have also met with the Chamber of Commerce on two occasions to discuss the proposals, they will be making their observations and recommendations to Lewes District Council when our application goes in, however it is clear from the feedback we have so far received that they feel that the provision of a good mix of new retail units and the new car parking proposals, together with the new office space and new residents will actually improve the trade of the existing retailers and other businesses in the town. We have been careful in the design of our scheme to integrate the new quarter into the town and to allow as good as possible pedestrian linkage to the Cliffe area and the High Street. In conclusion , it is John's prerogative to get a pressure group together to fight our plans, i just wish him to know that we are already listening to the comments of local people and local groups and that we look forward to seeing the Lewes Matters Questionaire before we finalise our application   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. charles style   Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/19 06:06 Dear John Stockdale , I have just seen your flyer, which as is the case with all the correspondence I have seen from you, full of distortions and inaccuracies. As you very well know our development proposal is not full of 8 storey buildings, any high elements are only very minor parts of buildings rather than whole blocks as you are trying to suggest, and anyway, heights have not yet been decided and are being scrutinised by Lewes District Council and English Heritage before becoming part of our final submission for planning. The proposed density is not as you state: 270 dwellings per hectare, in fact the density has not even been decided yet either, but in any event will be checked by Lewes district Council and will comply with guidelines. It is also ridiculous to suggest that this development will compromise the new Southdowns National Park, in fact the completion of an excellent new Quarter for the County Town with all the facilities proposed, including an arts centre and 400 metres of river frontage will enhance the town and make it more suitable as the centre of the new park. Nor will there be the loss of hundreds of jobs, in fact there is a massive gain in jobs in the Phoenix Quarter, and we are being extremely careful to protect the blue collar jobs that are there now by providing new light industrial space in Malling Brooks. The net result is likely to be at least 800 new jobs. The viability of the proposals and its effect on the economy of the town and the district will be scrutinised by all the interested parties who are very capable of understanding our proposals and making their own enquiries and will report to Lewes District Council, before taking a knee jerk reaction as you have done. These parties include the Lewes Chamber of Commerce, East Sussex County Council, Friends of Lewes, SEEDA, Locate East Sussex and Lewes Town Council. Further, there is no evidence to show that our development 'kill off the High Street' as you have suggested, again this will be checked and understood by proper scientific methods rather than a guess which is all you are making, or perhaps you have done some proper research which you would care to share with me? In fact the proposals are considered to be likely to increase the trade in the High Street as new parking facilities, new jobs and residents will bring increased trade into the town, and make shopping here more attractive to locals and visitors alike. We are not providing insufficient car parking. Our car parking standards will be checked and comply with East Sussex County Council Highways Department's standards. Nor are we proposing to funnel traffic down Lancaster Street or the centre of town, as you would know if you visited our exhibition, the traffic management scheme which will be developed in conjunction with East Sussex County Council is careful to avoid this and will be accompanied by a traffic assessment and traffic model for the whole town. I will be taking legal advice tomorrow to see whether we can get an injunction stopping your lies and distortions. We will also look into suing you either for damages or defamation, or both. You may not like our proposals, which are in any event not even finalised yet, but if you think that you can get away with trying to further your own cause, whatever that may be, with this kind of behaviour you are wrong. You may wish to reconsider the course of action you are taking. As I said to you in my last postings on the Lewes Matters website I have no objection to people voicing concerns and criticising my company's plans for Lewes, it is entirely natural to want to question the proposals, and we are happy to amend our proposals if the criticism is valid. Freedom of speech is one thing, deliberate distortion of the facts is another. I just will not put up with the dishonest way you go about propogating your views. Get your facts right before you get involved in your campaign and do not make claims you cannot substantiate. If you make claims you cannot substantiate and the result is that you predudice our proposals, in any way, including delay, we will sue you for any consequential loss. kind regards Charles Style   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. C M Darcy   Re:Phoenix Action. Free the Market Lane Two - 2006/04/19 15:15 What on earth is this wild over-reaction? I am appalled that Charles Styles taking this preposterous bullying attitude towards John Stockdale. Mr Styles has been taking his glossy road show round town for weeks is working overtime to persuade one group after another to applaud his scheme. All Mr Stockdale has done is make a tiny attempt to redress this imbalance by pointing out some of the more unwelcome aspects of the proposals. I know this was a tiny attempt as the leaflets were produced on my photocopier and we ran out of paper after about 50. I hereby confess to being in league with Mr Stockdale so can I now anticipate Mr Styles arriving with his trusty sword of truth to arrest us both? Methinks the developer doth protest too much.   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.

Boardwalk :: Forum List The Phoenix Quarter General Discussion

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