charles style
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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
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