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Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/25 23:20The Brewery Square development in Dorchester includes, in round terms 630 residential units, 38 shops 12 restaurants and bars, an hotel, cinema and arts centre. the full scheme will be posted on this website shortly.
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Merlin Milner
Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/25 23:36Well said about Tesco's. Go to LDC's planning department and look at the plans and in partiular read the figures. Makes interesting reading. All Tesco's want to do is protect their market share against competion from Asda in Hollingbury and Sainsbury in Newhaven. The danger of their expansion is not just to local(ish) traders such as Octave, Potts, Seymours and Steamer Trading but to Dixons, Woolies, WH Smith and Argos. If they go there will be even less insentive for Tesco shoppers to visit the town centre. According to Tesco's survey 22% of Teco shoppers do not visit Lewes.
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Could you let us know what comparable developments are being used to provide TRICS assessment figures? This would be helpful to those of us concerned with potential traffic generation.
For those reading this unfamiliar with the term, 'TRICS' figures are statistics used as part of the traffic assessment process. They are recorded figures from similar developments in other parts of the country that give an indication of the kind of traffic generation that such a development may produce. For example you might compare a potential 200 unit housing development in Haywards Heath with a 180 unit housing development on the outskirts of Oxford. Though they are not exactly the same, they are both urban commuter towns, with similar transport provision, and housing provision. Such figures give an indication of what traffic might be expected by a proposal.
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charles style
Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/26 02:31We will be providing a transport assessment with our planning application, I see no reason to assume that this will be anything other than an assessment of the effect of the scheme on traffic in Lewes, why would it compare this to other towns? I will however ask the traffic engineers when I meet them tomorrow whether their TRICS model extends to making comparisons with other towns.
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Holly
Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/26 02:55I am glad that the diagrams and dimensions are going to be posted on this site so that we can fully understand the 'tower blocks' vs 'slim tower' debate.
However, if the diagrams dont make sense to us non-architects - perhaps Mr Style in his efforts to provide open consultation could just provide straight answers to any specific queries that we may have ...
I am not quite sure if the notion of a 'straight answer' is fully understood. Here is are a couple of examples for guidance which may help Mr Style:
Example 1:
In response to a question such as:
Bob: 'Will there be eight storey buildings?'
a straight answer would be:
Mr S: yes
An evasive/rather confusing and a bit of a misleading answer could be:
‘there were no 8 storey blocks shown in our exhibition, only some small sections of buildings were shown at this height, with one flat per floor, these small slim towers are part of the architects design and are considered to be appropriate’
Example 2:
Q- Bob: is there an example of a town that has been improved by such a development?
A straight answer would be:
Mr S: I am unaware of one but will do some research into the matter and get back to you
A response that doesn’t answer the question could be:
‘to a certain extent the inspiration for the Phoenix Quarter came from the masterplan for the Brewery Square Development in Dorchester. This scheme which now has outline planning was designed by Piers Gough for Brewery Square Ltd.’
Please Mr Style, [b]just answer our questions simply and directly.[b] We are all able to see through evasion and spin and it heightens our concerns.
In relation to Dominic’s posting above – I consider those who return with their children to Lewes to be ‘locals’. Many locals, or people who have grown up in the town have to commute to London because of high housing prices or their pursuit of specific career paths (Dominic?). I dont deny that people who are new to the own bring their own new ideas and bond with the place - but it does force prices up and families with bonds for generations out. People are being forced out by escalating prices – so affordable housing does need to be looked at. However, in this proposal – just building lots more homes at high density (possibly) does concern me. It could either mean that:
1) local people and those who work locally would be able to stay in the town but equally it could mean that 2) people without links to Lewes move to the town to benefit from the cheaper housing and continue to commute to work outside of the town – thus an increased level of housing could ultimately add very little. 3) People buy the affordable housing as investment properties or second 'weekend' homes.
I suspect that 2 & 3 would happen and thus house prices would be stilted for a tiny period and thereafter continue to zoom upwards.
I would prefer Lewes to just be left alone – it is developed enough -= and aspic sounds fine to me. But if it is going to happen – which is very likely then I think that this is another of the many issues that needs to be considered in some depth.
Tesco’s – yes absolutely. Flood plain building again, endangering local businesses again…………..Mustn’t take the eye off the ball.
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charles style
Re:Phoenix Action - 2006/04/26 02:57Elinor, The traffic routing through Lewes is decided by the East Sussex Highways Engineers, after public consultation. We are involved only because we are proposing to provide a link to a new junction that will be built and designed by and for East Sussex. We are also forwarding feedback we receive from local people as to their concerns re traffic routing. We have, for example , relayed to them concerns expressed by the residents of Lancaster Street that traffic exiting the Phoenix Quarter not be funelled down this narrow street and onto other narrow streets such as Sun Street and Abinger place, for this reason a no right turn signal is shown on the drawings at the junction of North Street and Lancaster Street . Likewise we have explained the concerns of the Pells area about traffic leaving the site going down the very narrow Brooks Street. The final decision is theirs not ours about the traffic routing proposals but we are trying to come up with solutions by keeping an open dialogue going with them. It was their idea not ours to route traffic that currently goes down Little East Street through the Phoenix Quarter but by us providing a link to the Causeway this can be acheived. Likewise it was always an aim of the Highways Dept to be able to route traffic out of Waitrose back accross the Phoenix Bridge without it having to go back into town first. The overall ability to create a new junction that acheives this aim is helped by our scheme we have tried to influence the design to ensure it is not an alien or suburban solution. The traffic engineers were previously contemplating a big roundabout at the entrance to the town, this was considered by our architect and the conservation officer of Lewes District Council to be unattractive in townscape terms and not an appropriate entrance to an historic town, it also was very difficult to get a satisfactory pedestrian crossing with the roundabout solution. The junction shown at our most recent exhibition was designed by Owen Williams traffic engineers for East Sussex based on these discussions. We are keen to keep this diaalogue between ourselves east Sussex and local people open and will continue to do so once our traffic assessment is finalised and published and once the traffic model which has been commissioned by east Sussex is available to test all the different traffic routing options. I hope this clarifies this point for you and others.
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