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<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next > End >> charles style   Re:Fancy a punt? - 2006/04/30 21:34 RBB you may think you are well informed about planning law or the realities of the regeneration of the Phoenix Industrial Estate and I am not. I would beg to differ.:aving spent two years researching this proposal and employing some of the most well qualified consultants in the UK to help with this research this seems unlikely. Firstly this is a brownfield site, a brownfield site is defined as any site which has previously been built on. Secondly we have looked into the possibility of regenerating the site with new industrial units and have found that it is not viable. We will be presenting information to that effect to Lewes District Council with our planning application.It would not even be viable if flood defense were not required. Thirdly policy for the regeneration of brownfield sites in towns that have been proven to be no longer capable of regeneration for that use is for them to become mixed use sites. The reality is that by mixed use regeneration it is possible to provide not only new homes but also modern employment space that will enable Lewes to have 800 new jobs.We have also designed a new purpose built industrial estate that can accomodate the uses that currently occupy inefficient, flood prone space at Phoenix. The planning system is not designed to stifle the possibility that towns can improve or that change cannot take place that allows improvement and regeneration when it is proven to be necessary. I feel you are also forgetting that there are other benefits for the residents of Lewes and that not all is doom and gloom. Right now the area as well as being under utilised is inacessible for most local people.It is not even possible to walk along the river here even if you wanted to.There are no buildings of any architectural merit and generally the site does nothing to enhance the attractiveness of the town. The bottom line is that you seem to resent any new people being able to come into the town, to work here, to shop here or to live here. It really does not seem that your concern that the development should be well designed is your fundamental problem with what we are proposing ,which was the thrust of your argument earlier in this thread. You just do not want change at all, either change of use or change of accesibility through the site. If I am ill informed and what we are proposing is not considered to be of benefit to Lewes by the planning committee acting on advice and recommendations of the other consultees that will be commenting on our Proposals to the committee as well as taking account of the views of people that live in Lewes then no doubt you will be proven right and no change will be possible.What you also seem to forget is that Lewes is a District and the needs of people who live in the District are also considered. It will no doubt be realised that the ability of this site to accomodate new homes as well as new businesses in an area near good transport links and other facilities a County town can offer will be seen as preferable to locating new homes either in the countryside or in small villages or coastal towns that cannot accomodate them so easily, again this is the reason that brownfield sites in towns are considered to be most appropriate for mixed use and new residential. Because it is the most sustainable use of land.   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. S.Oliver   Re:Fancy a punt? - 2006/04/30 22:20 Dear Mr Style, I think on a previous occassion you suggested I was a pedant. Whilst RBB is technically incorrect about the site not being a brownfield site, he is correct in pointing out that it is an active one, and I think it is clear that this is his/her point. What evidence do you have that this site is not viable for light industrial use?   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. charles style   Re:Fancy a punt? - 2006/05/01 00:44 RBB you may think you are well informed about planning law or the realities of the regeneration of the Phoenix Industrial Estate and I am not. I would beg to differ.:aving spent two years researching this proposal and employing some of the most well qualified consultants in the UK to help with this research this seems unlikely. Firstly this is a brownfield site, a brownfield site is defined as any site which has previously been built on. Secondly we have looked into the possibility of regenerating the site with new industrial units and have found that it is not viable. We will be presenting information to that effect to Lewes District Council with our planning application.It would not even be viable if flood defense were not required. Thirdly policy for the regeneration of brownfield sites in towns that have been proven to be no longer capable of regeneration for that use is for them to become mixed use sites. The reality is that by mixed use regeneration it is possible to provide not only new homes but also modern employment space that will enable Lewes to have 800 new jobs.We have also designed a new purpose built industrial estate that can accomodate the uses that currently occupy inefficient, flood prone space at Phoenix. The planning system is not designed to stifle the possibility that towns can improve or that change cannot take place that allows improvement and regeneration when it is proven to be necessary. I feel you are also forgetting that there are other benefits for the residents of Lewes and that not all is doom and gloom. Right now the area as well as being under utilised is inacessible for most local people.It is not even possible to walk along the river here even if you wanted to.There are no buildings of any architectural merit and generally the site does nothing to enhance the attractiveness of the town. The bottom line is that you seem to resent any new people being able to come into the town, to work here, to shop here or to live here. It really does not seem that your concern that the development should be well designed is your fundamental problem with what we are proposing ,which was the thrust of your argument earlier in this thread. You just do not want change at all, either change of use or change of accesibility through the site. If I am ill informed and what we are proposing is not considered to be of benefit to Lewes by the planning committee acting on advice and recommendations of the other consultees that will be commenting on our Proposals to the committee as well as taking account of the views of people that live in Lewes then no doubt you will be proven right and no change will be possible.What you also seem to forget is that Lewes is a District and the needs of people who live in the District are also considered. It will no doubt be realised that the ability of this site to accomodate new homes as well as new businesses in an area near good transport links and other facilities a County town can offer will be seen as preferable to locating new homes either in the countryside or in small villages or coastal towns that cannot accomodate them so easily, again this is the reason that brownfield sites in towns are considered to be most appropriate for mixed use and new residential. Because it is the most sustainable use of land.   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. charles style   Re:Fancy a punt? - 2006/05/01 11:14 Dear S.Oliver, I have to say that I apologise if you think I stated you are a pedant. In fact I said that one of your comments seemed a little pedantic, however I am sure you are just trying to be precise and not pedantic and I accept your right to expect me to be as accurate as possible in my replies to your questions. I believe I have now accurately answered most if not all of your questions and I will try to answer the rest next week. In answer to your question as to how we assessed the viability of the existing industrial estate, I would answer as follows: We commissioned GVA Grimley surveyors in 2004 to survey the existing businesses and the space they occupied. The findings of the survey were that the estate was no longer viable, and needed regeneration. That most of the buildings were coming to the end of their useful lives and this was compounded by the risk of flooding and with the inefficient nature of the buildings. We then considered the viability of rebuilding the estate for the continued industrial use and found this was not possible, this is based on a fully costed estimate of what it would cost to rebuild and what the flood defense to allow rebuilding would cost. We then considered the needs of the existing occupiers here and the needs of the town for light industrial space to replace the space we were considering demolishing in Phoenix. We then purchased the land at Malling Brooks to relocate the existing industrial users to. This land has the advantage of already being zoned for that use and being flood protected, though it has sat dormant and undeveloped for about twenty years since it was zoned for that use as no developers were interested in building new industrial space in Lewes. We have now designed new space for the majority of the existing occupiers of Phoenix and we are looking at the needs of the remaining businesses. The development of Phoenix as a phased development will allow us sufficient time to consider the existing businesses needs and there will be no loss of industrial jobs or businesses that are needed to service the local economy. We have undertaken this review and we will be undertaking the relocation strategy with the full knowledge of the Lewes District Council. Our proposals will also be scrutinised by, The Lewes Chamber of Commerce and East Sussex County Council, who have commissioned their own independent report on the viability of all the industrial sites in the county and have looked specifically at our proposals.   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. S.Oliver   Re:Fancy a punt? - 2006/05/01 11:33 Dear Mr Style, Thank you for providing further information. Like others on this site, I am concerned that a viability statement was obtained without consulting many of the tenants, but will be interested to read the opinion of the consultants working on your behalf.   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum. Paul J   Re:Fancy a punt? - 2006/05/02 11:13 Charles: I see the Malling Brooks site has provision for 33,000 square feet of commercial space, and this could be reduced if the new developers get their way. What is the net gain or loss of commercial space for the Phoenix project?   | | You must login if you wish to contribute to this forum.

Boardwalk :: Forum List The Phoenix Quarter General Discussion

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