The industrial aspect of a Rotherham regeneration scheme is finally moving ahead, thanks to local developer, E V Waddington Ltd.
After a long running planning battle, Northfields Retail & Business Park close to Parkgate began to take shape in 2008 when developer, Henry Boot secured a key letting with retailer B&Q for a 51,000 sq ft unit.
Another 10,000 sq ft went to Tile Giant and Quay Plastics but the Sheffield based developer said in 2011 that it was waiting on further pre-lets before commencing on the second phase.
Now a planning application has been submitted by E V Waddington Ltd, a specialist in brownfield development, for 57,000 sq ft of industrial space on a remaining 1.15 hectare parcel of land to the West of the current units.
Advertisement A leader in speculative development, Waddington provides the region with industrial, commercial and office accommodation to let.
Evolving from a timber merchants, the Waddington's property portfolio was started over 80 years ago with the acquisition of a number of properties alongside South Yorkshire's canals network and has been added to along the years with a number of investments and land acquisitions.
The latest plans at Forge Way, drawn up by Eastwood & Partners, are for two single storey, light industrial/warehouse buildings that could be subdivided into ten units, ranging in size from 4,800 to 9,000 sq ft.
EV Waddington operates its own construction company and other local developments include a new development on the Eastwood Trading Estate and Aldwarke Wharf, which continues to grow. The company's first development in the 1950's was for KP Nuts, a canal side development for taking delivery of peanuts at Eastwood.
With the closure of the B&Q store at Northfields last year, agents were brought in to extinguish the remaining leases as quickly and efficiently as possible. A planning application was submitted for the change of use of the building from bulky retail to a flexible use within retail, plus a health and fitness club, or a car showroom.
Planning consultants working for Sports Direct have also met with council planners to determine whether the empty building can be redeveloped into units that they would like to see house a Sports Direct store, one for high end fashion subsidiary, Flannels, and two speculative units with mezzanine floors.
The company's own health and fitness club business could also move to the site in a unit created by enclosing the sides of the former covered garden centre.
A draft of the new Rotherham town centre masterplan is garnering interest from developers, institutional investors and a leading hotel group, all keen to find out the opportunities available.
The urban designer bringing together the new town centre masterplan gave an exclusive first look at the latest drafts at the first meeting of the Rotherham Pioneers and explained that the focus is on implementation and being ambitious but realistic.
Project director Andrew Clarke, who originates from Rotherham, is a director of Urban Design at consultants WYG. He told the attendees: "This is a crucial and exciting time for Rotherham and its town centre and we are at a key point with the draft proposals."
The plan is due to be made public in May so it is still work in progress, but the idea is for it, and the town, to be commercially focused and pragmatic, but bold at the same time, with the delivery of exceptional projects.
The plan will look to use the town's assets as key positive features - the river, heritage, the market. Key projects include a proposed £43m leisure hub on Forge Island and a number of high quality schemes to boost the number of houses.
Clarke, who obviously knows the mindset of many Rotherham residents, added: "I'd like people who look at the masterplan to say: "you've no chance" because in three years time they'll be saying "I never thought they'd do that."
Previous plans, such as Rotherham Renaissance were hit by the global economic downturn and the withdrawal of Government funding. Completed projects include the redeveloped train station, New York Stadium and the heritage-led regeneration on the High Street. Future projects include the HE campus and revamp of the bus station.
Clarke added: "One thing that makes a difference and will make it happen is the local authority-owned land. We have a Council who is being pro-active and offering developers control.
"There'll be different delivery options as the Council seeks partners but we have got to get quality. We have to set new standards."
Advertisement The plan will place a lot of onus on Forge Island being a catalyst project. The Council recently concluded a deal to acquire the key regeneration site from Tesco. With the law courts and Riverside Preceint also being acquired, the wider development incorporating Forge Island and adjacent sites could deliver a 25,000 sq ft cinema, 20,000 sq ft hotel and 6,000 sq ft of restaurants and bars.
Government cash has also bee secured for £30m of housing development on Council-owned sites.
Damien Wilson, strategic director of regeneration and environment at Rotherham Council, was also at the Rotherham Pioneers event. He said: "The masterplan is about deliverability and we are taking these projects to the market. We took a brief to MIPIM, the global property event, and we've met with institutional investors who have targeted Rotherham. It could be for individual projects, it could be for the whole thing."
Wilson also revealed that talks have been held with cinema operators and the Hilton Hotels group.
Attendees were shown computer generated images of how the high quality development projects could look - hotels and leisure on Forge Island responding to the Minster and new riverside housing.
One thing that Clarke admitted was that "retail is not the answer" as the focus shifts to other town centre uses such as leisure and housing. "Like the rest of the UK, we are challenged. We cannot compete with Meadowhall and Parkgate Shopping," he said. "I think the town's retail offer will need to be consolidated, it is quite spread out."
One retail asset set to remain is the town's market, where a revamp to take advantage of the £40m Tesco Extra store has been mooted for years.
The plan is set to become an important tool in marketing the wider town centre to potential investors and encouraging further regeneration and improvement. It is also set to cover transport issues in more detail, including the preparation of a car parking strategy for the town.
Clarke concluded: "The town centre is a little jewel. It just needs moving in the right direction."
A prominent corner building at the foot of Rotherham town centre's regenerated High Street has sold for above the asking price at a recent auction.
38-40 College Street comprises a three storey, self contained building with a Portland Stone façade and was given a guide price of £150,000 - £200,000, by leading firm, Acuitus. It sold for £245,000.
Described as a "prominent town centre retail investment" the freehold went up for sale last year and was being sold on behalf of receivers - Moorfields.
The Acuitus March auction saw the sale of 74 lots for a total of £47.36m. Richard Auterac, chairman of Acuitus, said: "Investors are making it plain what they demand, so the ball is really now in the sellers' court. If they supply the right assets, these will sell at good prices.
"There was tremendous positivity in the room and that is reflected in the prices paid and the overall success rate."
Advertisement Totaling nearly 11,000 sq ft, the building is currently home to Eastwood Domestics in the 2,500 sq ft High Street unit and the 4,000 sq ft unit is home to That's Entertainment selling CDs, DVDs, video games and mobile phones. The second floor has its own entrance and was the home of Central Snooker Club, a club with an 80 year history.
Not a listed building, the property is on Rotherham Civic Society's local list which compiles properties of architectural or historic interest. The society states that: "No.2 High Street had been purchased by Montague Burton Ltd in 1926 with a view to expanding its presence in Rotherham. Following discussions with the Rotherham Corporation it became apparent that, due to the highway authority's plans to ease the College Street / High Street corner, Nos. 4 & 6 would need to be acquired in order to provide a site of sufficient size for Burton's new premises.
"In December 1929 the company's proposals for the new store were approved and the old property was demolished. The new building, designed by Harry Wilson, Architect, of Roundhay in Leeds was completed in 1931."
Recent acquisitions in Rotherham town centre include the vacant 8,000 sq ft property on Domine Lane that has been transformed into the 1915 bar and Sorting Office arts studio space.
Previous deals include the Howard Building where work on new housing has made little progress.
Industry analysts have confirmed that retail is not the answer for regenerating Rotherham town centre.
A detailed study into the retail sector in Sheffield and Rotherham has been carried out by experts at Bilfinger GVA - the largest independent commercial property agency in the UK.
Using surveys, studies and data, the latest study confirms that Rotherham is at the pinnacle of the retail hierarchy in the borough but it is not the location with the highest comparison goods turnover.
Rotherham shoppers have never had it so good, with leading names at nearby Parkgate and Meadowhall, and an independent offer and weekly markets in the town centre.
The study highlights that the large collection of stores in Parkgate Shopping are becoming increasingly attractive to residents of Rotherham and that Meadowhall presents significant competition for the borough's shoppers and dominates the luxury and sports goods market. Another example is that Parkgate has a 35% market share as the first choice for Rotherham shoppers looking for new clothes, followed by 26% for Meadowhall and then 19% for Rotherham town centre.
Advertisement Overall, the residents of Rotherham generate a total pot of £607m of comparison goods expenditure per annum. Just over £1 in every £10 from the Borough's residents is still being spent in Rotherham town centre. £2.50 in every £10 spent by the Borough's residents is spent at Parkgate and £2 in every £10 is being spent at Meadowhall.
The consultants conclude: "Rotherham is at the pinnacle of the retail hierarchy in the Borough but it is not the location with the highest comparison goods turnover. That role has been taken by Parkgate which is, for some types of comparison goods shopping, considerably more attractive than the town centre. In addition Rotherham town centre also faces considerable competition from Meadowhall, and these factors leave the town centre with a relatively small geographic catchment and a weak market penetration level with this catchment.
"These pressures also leave the town centre with a vacancy level which is noticeably higher than the national average and also lower than average levels of comparison goods retailing and service uses."
The figures used in the study has the vacancy rate at 28% for 2016, more than twice the national average of 12%.
"Convenience goods" is broadly defined as food, drinks, tobacco, newspapers, magazines, cleaning materials, toilet articles. "Comparison goods" covers other goods not classified as convenience goods.
Rotherham's share of stores selling comparison goods is on the decline, mirroring the national trend. Household shopper surveys showed, when compared to a similar survey in 2012, that there has been a drop in the proportion of people visiting the town centre for non-food shopping, but little change in relation to food shopping visits.
Advertisement The consultants add: "We consider that comparison goods retailer demand for the town centre is likely to be subdued. The socio-demographic profile of the town suggests that the centre is likely to appeal to mid-market and value orientated retailers and a number of these are already present including B&M, Poundstretcher and Primark [but not for long].
"Many other comparison goods retailers who would consider the Rotherham catchment are already present at Parkgate and it is very unlikely that these retailers would consider a second store in such close proximity. The same is true for Meadowhall, given its proximity to Rotherham town centre, catchment and accessibility from the main road network."
The weaknesses and vulnerability have been known for a while, and signs are that the latest town centre masterplan will look at consolidating retail and instead focus on new housing and boosting the leisure offer to breathe new life into the town centre.
The consultants back up this approach, advising the Council to focus on trying to maintain the current comparison goods role of the town centre in the face of sustained competition and look at other sectors to add vibrancy and vitality.
The study adds: "With the ability to increase its comparison goods market share rather challenging, we consider that the future health of the town centre lies in the ability to diversify its offer and suite of land uses. This will include introducing a greater diversity of leisure and food/drink uses, in order to increase vitality and activity throughout the day and evening. This will also be assisted by an increase in the local residential population."
Rotherham Council has also been provided with analysis to help determine future retail planning applications. The study concludes that there is no need to plan for any further (net additional) convenience goods floorspace, and that "there does not appear to be an urgent or substantial short term quantitative need for net additional comparison goods floorspace."
Rents for the Centenary Market Hall in Rotherham are being frozen again but some traders at the award-winning street market have seen fees increase.
General fees and charges have not increased since 2013 as many traders stated that they are suffering hardship in the current economic climate.
During the Council's budget setting each year, the Market Service charges have been reviewed in the context of current occupancy levels at the Centenary Market Hall in Rotherham town centre, comparisons with neighbouring authorities and the trading performance of the Tuesday Street Market and the Outdoor Covered Market.
Occupancy rates in the Centenary Market Hall are currently at 87%, which is the highest rate for the last two years, but footfall is on the decline - by 7.5% in 2016. The occupancy rate in 2012 was 96% and 83% in 2015.
Advertisement Councillors agreed with the recommendation that rents for the Centenary Market Hall remain frozen for 2017, "to ensure that the Market Service remains competitive and attractive to new businesses."
A charge for a standard stall ranges from £14.75 to £16.65 depending on the day of the week.
However, charges for regular RMBC traders and "new casual" traders on the Tuesday street market have seen charges increase by 10.6% from £19.90 to £22, "to reflect the popularity of this market."
The move should bring in an extra £3,000 a year to the Council who invested £48,000 in 2015 in new outdoor market stalls to allow the Tuesday Street Market to expand from 62 to 95 stalls.
Rotherham was successful in the Best Large Outdoor Market category at the Great British Market Awards 2016 run by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA).
In a 2015 independent study, Rotherham's Tuesday Street Market was identified as the fourth highest customer footfall location of 84 surveyed UK markets.
Recent initiatives include new operators of the Thursday Bazaar, space provided for free to potential new traders and the town hosts its first Teenage Market next month.
The Council recognises that the outdoor markets area is underutilised and has significant issues in terms of its access and permeability into the indoor markets area. A redeveloped markets complex was identified in the borough's growth plan and a number of studies have been carried out on the site's future.
The new town centre masterplan should outline how the asset can be best used and there is an allocation of funding (up to £8m) in the Council's Capital Programme for the Markets.
Rotherham-based retailer, Fishing Republic, has posted an increase in revenue to £5.79m as it continues to progress its expansion plans to build a significant position in the fishing tackle marketplace.
One of the largest fishing tackle retailers in the UK, the Eastwood company floated on the AIM stock exchange in 2015, raising millions to help carry out its expansion plans.
Fishing Republic is acting as a consolidator and expansion plans involve snapping up smaller, often family-owned fishing retail businesses. At the same time, the store network is expanding and its online sales strategy involves transitioning away from third party platforms to its own website sales, where margins are higher.
The firm has reported on the year ending December 31 2016, calling it "a year of strong progress" where revenue was up by 41% to £5.79m from the £4.12m in 2015. With investment in growth, profit before tax rose to £403,000 from £6,000 in 2015 (which included around £300,000 in costs relating to the IPO). Gross profits have been helped by improved purchasing power.
A new share placing during 2016 landed £3.75m from big name investors including Bill Currie, Iain McDonald and Sir Terry Leahy. This funding has enabled the business to support the expansion of the store network and the online strategy.
Advertisement Fishing Republic had 12 outlets by the end of the year with three opening in 2017, in Milton Keynes, Ipswich and Reading. Leases have been signed on three further stores, in King's Lynn, Huntingdon and Clavering in Essex, which expect to open over the coming months.
Store revenues (£4.14m in 2016 compared to £2.27m in 2015) accounted for 71% of the group's total revenues with like-for-like sales increasing by 16% over 2015.
James Newman, chairman of Fishing Republic, said: "Fishing Republic has made strong progress over the year as we continued with expansion plans to build a significant position in the fishing tackle marketplace. Results show very encouraging growth with revenues up by 41% to £5.8m and profit before tax and exceptional items up by 32% to £0.40m.
"The outlook for the Group remains very positive. The fishing tackle marketplace is large but highly fragmented, with over 2,000 mainly owner-operated businesses and we continue to see a substantial growth opportunity for the Group and our multi-channel model."
Steve Gross, chief executive of Fishing Republic, added: "It has been another encouraging year of progress. The new funds we raised in late June 2016 helped to support the continuing development and expansion of our store network and have also enabled us to accelerate our plans to develop the Group's online platform and digital strategy, and transition online sales to our own websites, away from our historical model of third party platforms.
"Our store expansion is progressing very well and we have a further three stores earmarked for opening over the coming months which will take the total number of our outlets to 18. The main fishing season, which typically starts in the second quarter of the year, has begun well and we view prospects for ongoing growth very positively as we capitalise on our 'first mover' advantage."
Crawshaw Group PLC, the fresh meat and food to go retailer, is hailing a transformational deal with the 2 Sisters Food Group that includes Ranjit Boparan becoming a significant shareholder in the Rotherham-based business.
The AIM-listed Hellaby firm is undergoing growth plans that will see it invest £200m, opening 200 stores and creating 2,500 jobs. The new investment is expected to enable Crawshaw to restart its accelerated new store opening programme, with an initial focus on factory shop locations.
Heads of terms have been agreed on a deal that will see 2 Sisters Food Group founder and chief executive, Ranjit Boparan (and connected party), invest approximately £5.1m for a 29.9% stake in Crawshaw, with warrants to acquire a further 20.1% of the Group.
The deal, which sees Boparan become an advisor to the Crawshaw Board, also includes an initial three-year supply agreement for Crawshaw to acquire fresh meat and other products from 2 Sisters, one of Europe's largest meat and food producers.
Crawshaw said that it would use its unique vertically integrated capability to take supply of quality fresh meat, poultry and other grocery products from the supply/demand imbalances, which prevents creation of unnecessary food waste.
Advertisement Noel Collett, chief executive of Crawshaw Group said: "This is a transformational partnership for the Crawshaw Group with a significant opportunity to offer a greater range and better availability to our customers. This new relationship provides a catalyst to our accelerated growth, both in sales and profitability."
"We very much welcome the 50/50 equity split as it reflects the symbiotic nature of the partnership and aligns both our interests to achieve maximum shareholder value. The two-stage subscription including conditional warrants will allow the commercial benefit to be demonstrated as part of the process."
Ranjit Boparan, chief executive of Boparan Holdings Ltd, added: "This is a great opportunity that complements our corporate social responsibility policy and our aim to reduce levels of quality food that would otherwise go to waste. Our businesses have a significant number of opportunities to work through together in the coming weeks and months."
The announcement of the deal comes at the same time as Crawshaw announced its final results for the full year ended January 29 2017.
Turnover was up 19% to £44.2m from the £37.1m reported in the previous year. Investing in expansion plans, the group made a loss before tax of £1.4m, an increase on the loss of £0.3m.
The expansion plan stumbled a little in 2016. As new stores opened, standardised offers and price points were also introduced into existing stores but the management admitted that they "didn't resonate as well with customers as we thought."
Changes were made to give store managers flexibility to re-introduce local products, sizes, price points and offers that were previously on sale in their specific store.
Collett added: "By listening to customers and focusing on the demands of each store's individual local community, we have seen a sharp recovery in both sales and customer numbers throughout the second half of the year."
The group opened 11 new stores during the period and now operates from 49 sites. It reported like for like sales down -7.3% for the full year.
2018 will see a disciplined approach to its growth strategy with a focus on factory stores which have higher sales, lower operating costs and lower fit out costs than units on the high street and in shopping centres.
It was also announced that Richard Rose is to retire after 11 years as chairman of the Group. Jim McCarthy, former boss of budget chain Poundland, is set to replace him in the role.
Developers behind a £5.5m trade counter retail development in Rotherham are bidding to secure planning permission that would enable United Carpets to open an outlet on the former industrial site.
Construction began last year for the Parkgate development where initial 2014 plans were approved to create ten units totalling 45,000 sq ft. Lettings include National Tyres & Autocare (NTS), Al Murad DIY Ltd and Halfords Autocentres. Planning permission was also secured for one unit to open as a gym, operated by the Gym Group.
Now a new planning application has been submitted that would change the use of two B8 trade counter units in order to provide a single 10,441 sq ft bulky goods retail unit (Use Class A1). The new retail unit is set to be occupied by United Carpets.
Bakewell based Litton Property Group purchased the Ruscon engineering works on Rotherham Road in 2003 but plans for a DIY retail store and garden centre were refused in 2005. Outline planning permission was granted in 2006 for a warehouse development with 20% of the floorspace approved for retail use.
Advertisement Rotherham-based United Carpets and Beds is the UK's largest franchised flooring and bed retailer and has recently moved its main Rotherham store to the former Staples unit at the Foundry Retail Park nearby.
As the site is not located within a designated town, district or local centre, a sequential test assessment is included in line with national and local planning policies. Sequential tests ensure that development is located in the most sustainable location first (usually in town centres), before other, less sustainable locations are chosen.
The applicants assessed a number of sequentially preferable locations, discounting vacant units in Rotherham town centre as being too small. Forge Island was discounted due to it forming part of the Council's future plans for a new entertainment, leisure and cultural quarter/complex.
When discussing potential projects being developed through the town centre masterplan at Forge Island and the markets, the planning consultants, DPP, acting on behalf of the applicants, add: "Proposals for a change of use of two trade counter units to provide a small bulky goods retail store outside of the town centre will not impact upon potential investment for the redevelopment of these sites."
Advertisement If the plans are approved, United Carpets will move from its current retail unit and occupy the proposed retail unit at Tradeworld. United Carpets have only recently moved to Unit 5 from another unit within the Foundry Retail Park (Unit 12 – Adjacent to DFS), due to lease arrangements.
The application adds that "it is not anticipated that the vacating of United Carpets from the Great Eastern Retail Park will have a significant adverse impact on the vitality and viability of the emerging centre as a whole. Indeed the previous United Carpet unit has already been pre let to Coop Concessions [AHF Futniture] and it is anticipated from the previous "churn" of occupiers at this retail park over the previous years that Unit 5 will not remain vacant for an extended period of time."
An assessment of the impact on town centres is also included with the applicant adding: "As the proposal actually results in a reduction in United Carpets trading floorspace, it is extremely unlikely that impact levels on any of the identified competing units within defined centres, will be of a significant adverse level; indeed these are anticipated to be negligible."
Vinyl Soundbar, a new start business in Rotherham, has quickly found its groove and is already offering new services and planning to take on new staff.
Launching on the town's Centenary Indoor Market just before Christmas, the enterprise was founded by former employees of Tata Steel, and life-long friends, Jason Sayles and Ian Hawkridge after both being made redundant from their jobs as a non-destructive testing engineers following 21 years with the company.
Selling CDs, audio cassettes and event tickets for live music venue, the Cutlers Arms, the duo secured £500 from UK Steel Enterprise's Kickstart Fund which allowed the business to purchase vital record cleaning and office administrative equipment to help it get off the ground.
In turn, Jason and Ian are able to offer a wider range of services, develop the company website and manage its social media presence.
AdvertisementJason said: "Music is a huge passion of ours. When we were made redundant in 2016 it was only a natural progression for us to use the opportunity to follow our dream of owning our own business in the sector – providing local people with access to good music, new and old, as well as a host of other services.
"The funding that we have received from the UK Steel Enterprise Kickstart Fund has allowed us to buy a computer and a record cleaning machine and now, after just four months, we've got a strong and loyal customer base who are delighted to have the shop on their doorstep, as well as access to our product range online."
UKSE is part of Tata Steel and invests up to £1m in growing companies, particularly those creating jobs.
Launched in February 2016 by UKSE, with support from RIDO and Rotherham Youth Enterprise, the Kickstart Fund consists of a separate £40,000 pot dedicated to supporting people looking to establish a business in the area with grants between £500 and £1,000.
Keith Williams of UK Steel Enterprise (pictured, left), said: "In just a few short months Jason and Ian have established a reputation on the local music scene; not only selling records, CDs, cassettes and gig tickets, but also providing services that weren't previously available.
"They have their sights set firmly on growth and expansion –with plans to recruit an additional team member in the coming months – and we're looking forward to following Vinyl Soundbar's journey."
Planning officers at Rotherham Council are recommending that plans be approved to enable Tesco to bring in new parking restrictions at its £40m Extra store in the town centre.
The recommendation on the plans, which would see shoppers wanting to park for over 30 minutes having to spend £5 in the store and register their vehicle, has been made as the condition on the car park in the original application five years ago was based on encouraging other forms of sustainable transport, and not encouraging linked trips into town and boosting footfall.
Rothbiz reported first that the largest retailer in the UK intends to introduce restrictions at its Rotherham Extra store at Drummond Street.
Montagu Evans, consultants for Tesco, state that the retailer is "finding that their car park is coming under considerable pressure and is being used by non-Tesco customers, detracting from the attractiveness of the store as a main food shopping location, and in turn impacting on its trading performance."
The national retailer's planning application seeks a variation over a planning condition inserted by Rotherham Council when the planning application for the 110,000 sq ft superstore was approved in 2012.
Tesco needs the approval if it is to introduce a new system. Validation machines have already been installed in store and the new restrictions are being advertised as "coming soon."
Advertisement Now a report to the planning board at Rotherham Council shows that members are being recommended to approve the plans which would vary the condition that enforced a car park plan including details of the availability of two hours free parking for customers and non customers of the store. It was included by the Council "to limit the availability of free parking and to encourage the use of sustainable transport."
On the latest plans, the report sates: "The current variation of the condition would not be contrary to the relevant national and local planning policies and is considered acceptable."
It added that the variation is "not contrary to the spirit of the original condition" and that three hours parking will facilitate linked trips into the town centre.
This was not the view of the Council's regeneration arm, RiDO, which is responsible for the town centre and the nearby markets, who warned that new proposed parking restrictions will have a negative effect.
Commenting on the plans, RiDO said: "There is a high risk of negatively impacting on footfall, and discouraging shoppers who visit the store from also visiting the town centre. The proposals will drive customers away from the markets complex and damage the town centre footfall as a whole."
The applicant states that the revised controls will ensure that there is a greater turnover of parking to create more freely available spaces for shoppers to visit both the store and shops located in the town centre.
The car park currently allows for three hours free parking without the need for any spend in store or validation. The new system will mean that shoppers wanting to use the 600 space car park but not the Tesco store will only be given 30 minutes to head into town before leaving the site.
Those wanting to use the car park will still be able to visit the rest of the town centre in their three hours, so long as they spend £5 at Tesco and validate their parking.
When it opened, the store operated on a 24 hour basis. Opening hours were cut to 6am to midnight last year.
The new "ParkShopReg" system involves parking being validated on the day of visiting the store. This can be done at store using the machines provided or by using a mobile phone app. A free parking voucher will be printed for customers in store which includes a barcode and voucher code. Drivers will have up until midnight on the day to validate using the app.
Those who don't validate their parking or stay longer than three hours will be issued a penalty charge notice of £70, reduced to £40 if paid in 14 days.
Tesco recently reported its first UK sales growth in seven years. Group revenue for the year ending February 28 2017 rose 3.7% to £55.9 billion, though profits were down 28% to £145m after taking a £235m charge relating to the 2014 accounting scandal.
Plans for the £50m 12-acre retail, office and leisure development at Waverley in Rotherham have been submitted.
Rothbiz revealed last year that developers, Harworth Group plc had appointed Dransfield Properties, the Barnsley-based company that specialises in retail led regeneration schemes, as a development partner for "the piece of the jigsaw" between the residential and commercial developments at its Waverley regeneration site.
Now a planning application has been submitted for a mixed use centre on vacant brownfield land, previously known as Highfield Commercial, between the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) and the housing developments, and in between the AMRC Training Centre and the Winter Green pub.
A joint venture company, Waverley Square Limited, has been created to bring forward the development that echoes the Dransfield scheme at nearby Fox Valley at Stocksbridge.
The application, drawn up by Barton Wilmore, shows some 100,000 sq ft of retail space including a 20,774 sq ft foodstore; high spec office space covering 38,285 sq ft; restaurants, coffee shops and a gym; a medical and community facility covering 11,464 sq ft; and a small bus station.
Fox Valley has secured lettings from a mix of national and independent retailers including Aldi, Card Factory, M&Co, NEXT and Sanderson's Boutique.
The main changes from the plans that went out to public consultation last year are that the five-storey hotel has been omitted and replaced by office space.
Advertisement Details of the landscaping and public realm are also included in the proposals, which also includes a car park with 484 customer spaces as well as a 93 space staff car park. A new access road to the site is also proposed from Highfield Spring connecting with Stephenson Way.
The application states that the development could create 700 full-time equivalent jobs and generate business rates in the region of approximately £1.5m once fully occupied.
The retail uses are set to include a medium sized discount foodstore alongside convenience and comparison goods retail shops, hairdressers, beauty salons, and other retail services. The employment and financial services could include offices and uses such as banks, building societies and estate agents. The leisure/health facilities is likely to cover a gymn, health and well-being centre and associated pharmacy.
With the scheme arranged in a courtyard formation, the applicant also intends to seek consent in the future for an outdoor farmer's market area (similar to that which already take place at the Fox Valley scheme).
As well as meeting the needs of the growing residential and business community, a high quality, a local centre will also serve the needs of the emerging Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) where the aim is to develop Europe's largest research-led advanced manufacturing cluster. It will also be encouraged to "act as a draw across the wider area and provide the much needed facilities to ensure the area works as a viable, vibrant and dynamic housing / employment community."
As the retail and property market has changed since the initial outline application for the massive Waverley development was approved in 2010, work by the land-owners and developers, Harworth Group has led to changes to the plans for the mixed use aspects of the new community that is being created on the site of the former Orgreave coking works.
It means that the "Waverley Square" local centre/mixed uses permitted under the outline consent is being relocated and a viable scheme is now coming forward. A future local centre development at Waverley Waterside is now intended to be secondary to the proposed main mixed use centre within Highfield Commercial.
An unresolved objection exists relating to the floorspace cap for the site through the changes in the Borough's Local Plan. The developers would like to see a larger scheme and the Council appear happy, so long as national planning guidance covering sequential tests and impact on other centres, is addressed.
Advertisement The application states: "It has not proven possible to bring forward a small scale scheme at the Application Site in the circumstances where the operator demand is not present to support it, and the retail market is not healthy enough to build compromised space speculatively. The range and scale of uses proposed has been formulated such that, like Fox Valley, a successful mixed used place can be created at the centre of the growing Waverley community and the AMID.
"The views of various retailers have been sought by Dransfield Properties in respect of occupier requirements and the types and mix of retailers envisaged for the scheme will not be dissimilar to that at Fox Valley.
"The centre is to make provision for a range of shops, services, employment, leisure, health and community facilities that will serve the needs of Wvaerley, the AMP and the wider AMID within the immediately surrounding area, without undermining the vitality and viability of nearby higher order centres or compete with Sheffield City Centre or Rotherham Town Centre."
An impact assessment recognises that the scheme will draw trade from some existing centres including Rotherham town centre but adds that the level of trade division and impact is considered to be within acceptable levels and would not be classed as "significant adverse" against national planning policy terms. It is expected that the new retail offering will prevent Rotherham spend leaking into Sheffield.
Trade diversion away from Rotherham town centre is likely to be in the region of between £1.6m (1.2% impact) and £3m (2.2%) for comparison goods. The out of centre sites at Meadowhall (between £4.4m (0.5% ) and £8.2m (0.9%)) and Parkagte (between £4.0m (1.6%) and £7.5m (3.1%)) are likely to see more trade diverted to the new scheme.
For convenience goods, the nearby Morrison's supermarket at Catcliffe and Asda at Handsworth are likely to feel the biggest impact.
A submitted sequential test rules out sites earmarked for other uses such as Forge Island and vacant town centre units that are far too small. The Waverley scheme is also not expected to impact on potential investment in the town centre coming out of the new masterplan.
The application adds: "The proposed development aims to be the best designed centre within Rotherham, meeting and exceeding the place making objectives of the development plan and Waverley New Community and Highfield Commercial masterplans.
"Unlike many out of centre proposals, the proposed new centre development will encourage sustainable patterns of shopping and service usage via the provision of local facilities within the heart of a sustainable new community, which can be accessed via sustainable transport modes."
The planning board at Rotherham Council had a mixed bag of opinions on Tesco's latest plans, but the casting vote from the chair means that the application to enable new parking restrictions at its Rotherham Extra store has been approved.
Planning officers recommended that plans be approved to enable Tesco to provide three hours free parking with the condition that shoppers wanting to park for over 30 minutes would have to spend £5 in the store and register their vehicle.
The planning board heard how this recommendation was based on the reason why the authority included a condition on the original application when the 100,000 sq ft store was approved in 2014.
An approved parking plan to offer two hours free parking was "to limit the availability of free parking and to encourage the use of sustainable transport" and not related to offering users the opportunity to make linked trips into the town centre. It was a imposed as a limitation rather than a requirement.
Nigel Hancock, assistant planning manager at Rotherham Council, explained: "On the face of it you might think these new restrictions would put people off but what you need to consider is the terminology that is used [by the applicant] on creating linked trips. I.e. link a trip to Tesco with a trip to the wider town centre facilities, and not to provide a car park so someone can just visit the town centre.
"The proposal should increase the opportunity to provide linked trips as it will increase the time available to park from two hours to three hours - giving more time to go into town and shop at Tesco, using their car park."
The officer also discussed the objections to the new restrictions which included the Council's regeneration arm, RiDO, which is responsible for the town centre and the nearby markets, who warned that new proposed parking restrictions will have a negative effect.
Advertisement With discussion over how the store's care park is used, with Tesco stating that it is coming under considerable pressure and is being used by non-Tesco customers, the planning board where split over whether to approve the new application to vary the planning condition.
Cllr. Tweed told the meeting that he thought that the £5 minimum spend would be punishing shoppers and that three hours could be offered for free and policed by the new camera recognition system that will be in place. "I think you've got it all wrong," he said.
Cllr. Sansome disagreed and said that he thinks the new restrictions would help footfall. Tesco's planning consultants state that the revised controls will ensure that there is a greater turnover of parking to create more freely available spaces for shoppers to visit both the store and shops located in the town centre.
Sympathising with Tesco for providing parking for non-store users, Cllr. Walsh added that "the new plan seems to be a good compromise."
Summing up the application, which needed to be made on material planning conditions, Cllr. Atkin, chair of the planning board, said: "I had mixed feelings about this when I first saw it and we had a frank and open discussion with officers.
"I was won round on the issue that we [Rotherham Council], ourselves charge for our surface car parks in Rotherham. We are expecting Tesco to offer free parking to anybody coming in to Rotherham when we don't do it ourselves. We are being a bit hypocritical. They actually aren't charging, they are just saying: "use our facilities.""
He added that he would have liked to see more proof from the retailer that the car park was being used by non Tesco shoppers but concluded that the application is a reasonable compromise.
The vote to approve the plans was split down the middle at six votes each. Cllr. Atkin's casting vote as chair meant that the plans were approved by the board.
It means that the new "ParkShopReg" system can now be implemented which involves parking being validated on the day of visiting the store. This can be done at store using the machines provided or by using a mobile phone app. A free parking voucher will be printed for customers in store which includes a barcode and voucher code. Drivers will have up until midnight on the day to validate using the app.
Operated by a private firm, those who don't validate their parking or stay longer than three hours will be issued a penalty charge notice of £70, reduced to £40 if paid in 14 days.
The joint venture behind the 12-acre retail, office and leisure development at Waverley in Rotherham is looking for grant funding to support the £50m investment.
Land owners and developers, Harworth Group plc has established a joint venture company, Waverley Square Limited, with Dransfield Properties, the Barnsley-based company that specialises in retail led regeneration schemes, to bring forward the "the piece of the jigsaw" between the residential and commercial developments at the regeneration site on the former Orgreave coking works.
A detailed planning application has recently been submitted that shows some 100,000 sq ft of retail space including a 20,774 sq ft foodstore; high spec office space covering 38,285 sq ft; restaurants, coffee shops and a gym; a medical and community facility covering 11,464 sq ft; and a small bus station.
The joint venture has stated that the development team are seeking grant funding to deliver the high standard of architecture that the scheme will deliver.
Dransfield Properties received an investment of £8.1m from the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme 2007- 2013 to bring forward the £50m Fox Valley project at nearby Stocksbridge. Harworth has secured investment funding via the Sheffield City Region for commercial schemes and infrastructure in Rotherham and Barnsley.
Advertisement The application shows that there was little interest from retail agents and potential occupiers in the retail scheme approved as part of the original masterplan that placed retail and community uses on the other side of the housing development, and away from the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).
Relocating the new centre to land at Highfield Commercial, a scheme was developed in 2016 including residential uses together with smaller scale retail/food and drink uses. Market research concluded that it "was extremely challenging both from a viability perspective and in terms of being able to attract occupiers and as a result the planning application that was prepared for the scheme was not submitted."
With the expertise of Dransfield, the latest scheme has been designed to create a lively, mixed scheme including food and non-food retail, alongside food and drink outlets, offices and leisure uses.
The views of various retailers have been sought by Dransfield Properties in respect of occupier requirements and it is expected that the types and mix of retailers for the scheme will not be dissimilar to that at Fox Valley.
The developers are working with the South Yorkshire architects Dixon Dawson and planning consultants at Barton Wilmore on the scheme, which, as well as the buildings, also includes an attractive roof top walkway and gardens as well as landscaped piazza areas with multi jet fountains, and a "town square" where Farmers' Markets can be hosted.
Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth Group plc, said: "This is a key development for Rotherham and for Sheffield City Region in that it will create the sort of high-quality local facilities that both businesses at the AMP and local residents expect. The plans have been carefully designed following public input and we look forward to Rotherham Council carefully examining the plans over the summer prior to a decision being made."
Mark Dransfield, managing director of Dransfield Properties, added: "We are delighted that our application for Waverley has now been submitted to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.
"We have been refining the design following our public consultation session last October when the plans were extremely well received by the community. The whole team has been keen from the outset to deliver a high quality development in terms of both the architecture and materials which will create a real sense of place for this world class location.
"With the combined experience and knowledge of our two companies we are confident we will deliver an excellent scheme for Waverley to serve this growing community."
Fast-growing car sales group, The Car People, has submitted expansion plans for its Rotherham site that could create 25 new jobs.
Opening on the part of the Sheffield Business Park site which extends over the border into Catcliffe in 2007, the site is one of the largest of the Wakefield firm's operations which focus on selling cars in a hassle-free experience. The group sells around 18,000 vehicles a year.
Now a planning application has been submitted that would enable the erection of a new standalone body shop on the site to provide additional services for their customers.
The 8,500 sq ft portal frame building would be situated adjacent to the existing showroom, taking up 64 spaces for sold cars. Plans show that it would include four car spray booths, a dedicated wheel spray booth, staff offices and welfare facilities.
Advertisement The plans, drawn up by Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson, state: "The body shop will provide additional services to that currently provided by the existing workshop and valet departments of the existing building, and allow The Car People to improve their customer offer at their existing site."
If approved, the proposals could create 25 full time jobs.
Work completed earlier this year at The Car People Wakefield on the construction of a new body shop and extension to the existing showroom.
The Catcliffe site is also home to the £170m turnover firm's customer contact centre, which expanded in 2015 and took the total staff numbers on the Europa Link site to nearly 150.
The investments are part of the company's recognition that the traditional car buying process changed and the role of the dealership has shifted – customers choose the car they want before visiting a showroom, with many contacting the dealer online or over the phone before visiting.
The Car People's used cars that don't fit their age or mileage parameters are sold at auction at the Motor Auction Group's Rotherham site.
Outdoors specialist, Mountain Warehouse, looks to have snapped up the last remaining unit at a £36m retail development in Rotherham.
Work is close to completion at the Cortonwood Shopping Park where Sheffield contractor, J F Finnegan has led on the work to demolish the vacant 150,000 sq ft ALBA warehouse, and then construct 11 new retail units totalling 120,000 sq ft.
Before work even began, leading name retailers had signed up to take units - Outfit, H&M, New Look, River Island, Marks and Spencer Simply Food, Clark's, JD Sports, Wilkos, Poundland and Frankie & Benny's.
Advertisement The last unit looks to have been taken by Mountain Warehouse as it sets out plans to open 40 new stores in the year ahead, 20 in the UK.
The developer, Helical plc, said in its latest financial report to the stock exchange that construction is continuing with completion due in July 2017. Stores are set to open in August.
The developers believe that the new retail park will create between 279 and 372 jobs (equivalent to 186 full time jobs).
Mountain Warehouse recently published record results with profits jumping by 22% to £19.8m for the year ending February 2017, while sales were up 30.8% to £184.8m. Like-for-like sales increased by 16.5% over the period.
Founded in 1997, the business now sells mainly own brand clothing, footwear and equipment. It operates 260 stores worldwide and aims to have 300 UK stores and expand further overseas.
Helical Retail pre-funded the development to clients of Aberdeen Asset Management for £36.3m. Only passed on appeal, it forms an extension to Cortonwood Retail Park which was developed by St Paul's Developments, totally transforming the site of the former Cortonwood Colliery, where the 1984 miners' strike began.
On the same site, Palmer Capital recently acquired Dearne House for £5.25m, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.75%. Acquired for the Palmer Capital Income Fund and securely let to The Royal Mail Group Limited for a further 13 years with fixed uplifts, Dearne House comprises 51,671 sq ft of modern office accommodation.
As the regenerated site becomes a retail destination, Palmer Capital said that the deal offers "Royal Mail superb local amenities and the fund with a strong residual value position at the end of the lease."
Crawshaw Group PLC, the Rotherham-based fresh meat and food to go retailer, is heading past the 50 store mark with a new outlet close to home at the Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre in Sheffield.
The AIM-listed Hellaby firm announced growth plans in 2015 that included £200m of investment, opening 200 stores and creating 2,500 jobs. It secured new investment in April this year that is expected to enable Crawshaw to restart its accelerated new store opening programme, with an initial focus on factory shop locations.
The new store in one of the centre's exterior units will be opening this week next to McDonald's and opposite supermarket Sainsbury's. It was previously home to Blockbuster.
Lee Greenwood, centre manager at Crystal Peaks, said: "We are delighted to be welcoming another great high street name to the Crystal Peaks family of shops. Crawshaw's is one more exciting new name joining the complex as we look forward to building on our current success in the second half of 2017.
"Through 2016 we attracted 13 million visitors to Crystal Peaks and by continuing to attract the best names on the high street we can expect to further improve on that figure, ensuring we offer everybody a great shopping experience."
Advertisement Operating from 49 stores, turnover for the full year ended January 29 2017 was up 19% at Crawshaw to £44.2m from the £37.1m reported in the previous year. Investing in expansion plans, the group made a loss before tax of £1.4m, an increase on the loss of £0.3m in the previous year.
With a more disciplined approach to growth, Crawshaw said that it has a sufficient pipeline and capability to open a further four factory shops during the current financial year.
Noel Collett, chief executive officer at Crawshaw plc, said: "The UK grocery market will remain competitive and, with industry-wide pressures emerging in commodities and labour costs, the UK consumer outlook will continue to be more challenging than we have seen in recent years. Whilst we would ordinarily expect these to have a modest impact on margin in the short term we believe that, with our cost management measures and margin additive initiatives, together with the expected cost reduction in our business rates, we are well placed to navigate through this challenging environment.
"This year has started in line with our expectations as we continue to build on the momentum and improvements from the last six months.
"Our clear value proposition, underpinned by our unique vertically integrated concept, remains highly differentiated and competitive which we believe will further strengthen our retail offering. Furthermore, with the performance of our standalone factory shops being a real highlight of the year, we are very excited at opening more of this format."
Professional street trials mountain bike rider, Danny MacAskill, showed off his latest two-wheel tricks in Rotherham recently as he officially opened the new showroom for four-wheel customisation specialist Leighton Vans.
The automotive business, which has become a hit with the outdoor and lifestyle community nationwide, is the brainchild of Mike Leighton who spotted a gap in the market for sales and bespoke customisation of VW transporter vans four years ago.
The shots will be revealed to his fans through both Leighton Vans and Danny's social media channels throughout 2017.
The Scotsman, who is an ambassador for Leighton Vans and who has clocked up 200 million views on YouTube alone, said: "What a fantastic facility. I couldn't resist pulling a few tricks in the workshop. I've been involved with LV since 2015 and Mike runs such a dynamic and ambitious business. This is such an uber cool company with such great products. It's a great fit for me and the vans are crucial to ferrying all of the kit I need to take with me."
Advertisement Danny is one of a number of top cycling stars supported by Leighton Vans including world renown, professional mountain biker and Sheffielder Steve Peat and World Cup circuit rider Brendan Fairclough.
Danny uses one of their T6 Transporters to carry his world class Santa Cruz Mountain Bikes and Inspired Trials bicycles while travelling on his famous "Drop and Roll Tour" with his fellow street trials riders.
Mike Leighton, managing director at Leighton Vans, said: "Danny has become a real ambassador for our brand and we are delighted to see him at our new showroom today showing off his latest tricks and officialy opening the new premises."
Leighton Vans, the VW transporter customisation specialist which sells, rents and leases VW Transporters that are colour coded, body styled, upgraded and modified to client's requests, bought the Dodds Close premises in January this year as part of ambitious expansion plans.
The move enabled the company, which has become a hit with the outdoor and lifestyle community nationwide, to double its workforce and triple its sales and production space.
The showroom can now display about 50 vehicles, offers merchandise and has an informal customer area.
History & Heraldry, the Rotherham-based impulse-buy gift business has been named amongst Britain's top 200 mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
The Hellaby company was ranked at 97th in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table which ranks firms with over £25m in total sales based on their growth in international sales over the last two years of available data.
The league table reflects the importance of Europe to Britain's mid-market exporters ahead of the Brexit negotiations. Almost 85% of the companies (167) sell to the continent, the most popular market, followed by North America (112) and Asia (75). It is sponsored by HSBC and DHL Express, and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.
Advertisement History & Heraldry was started in 1994 by Malcolm Ogg and Diane Clothier in their kitchen, making coat-of-arms keyrings for common surnames. With the global headquarters and design centre in Rotherham and operations in Estonia, the US and China, it now employs 191 staff and has expanded its range to include a children's division which supplies the high street, toy and tourist destinations with kids' personalised gift lines.
The company also operates the Paper Island brand in the card and gift sectors and holds the UK license for Hallmark fragrances. Supplying 70,000 retal sites worldwide, overseas retail outlets include Monoprix and Toys R Us.
Demand for its range of scented candles has helped to boost exports as the company continues to focus on designing new products and helping retailers through a custom built stock management system.
Now selling to 70 countries, the league table shows that the firm reported that international sales accounted for £20.6m of its total £29.6m in sales for the year ending December 2016. The annual international sales growth over the two years was an impressive 42%.
Amanda Murphy, UK head of commercial banking at HSBC, said: "This year's Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 is testament to the exciting opportunities available to ambitious UK businesses with appetite to grow their goods and services abroad. The ten companies in Yorkshire are putting the region firmly on the map as a thriving business hub. We work very closely with our business customers to help them achieve their goals, so it makes me immensely proud to see so many of them succeed."
Business is blooming at the popular Wentworth Garden Centre in Rotherham which has outlined expansion plans that could create 30 new jobs.
The destination garden centre is situated in sixteen acres in the former walled kitchen, Italian and Japanese gardens of Wentworth Woodhouse and in the picturesque historic village of Wentworth.
Established for more than 30 years, the family owned independent centre has undergone a number of improvements and investment projects, with historic gardens, a craft centre, family farm and a landmark 260 seat restaurant.
A planning application has now been submitted for a new courtyard development, replacing the conservatory display area with a new catering facility.
The plans, drawn up by Malcolm Scott Consultants, include a 6,300 sq ft, two storey building for a supplementary restaurant with staff facilities including offices and welfare areas. Walling in the existing canopy will allow the garden centre to optimise floor space in the courtyard shops.
The plans state: "The intention of the facility is to offer existing customers an alternative to the Walled Garden Coffee Shop which will relieve pressure on the existing set up an reduce numbers of people leaving to "lunch" elsewhere rather than waiting."
If approved, the proposed development is expected to add a further 30 employees to the existing 135.
Advertisement The garden centre recently obtained planning permission to expand their car park to allow more year round accessible parking.
Based in the Green Belt location, the applicants need to demonstrate very special circumstances why the plans should be approved. In this case, it is based on the job creation and a high quality structure replacing display conservatories. The new development is replacing an area already used for retail and supports the existing permitted business at this site.
The Airey family acquired the garden centre in 1983 and sowed the seeds of a long term vision to create a "destination garden centre with a difference aimed at all ages and interests from young families to senior gardening connoisseurs."
Wentworth Woodhouse is one of the country's grandest stately homes. The Grade I listed mansion has recently been acquired by a preservation trust which aims to preserve the house and grounds on a long term sustainable basis and raise funds for repairs and other essential works.
Developed in the late 18th century as the pleasure grounds and kitchen garden by the Fitzwilliams of Wentworth Woodhouse, from 1750 until 1786, the gardens were formally reorganised into a kitchen garden. Created under the supervision of renowned York architect John Carr, the kitchen gardens principal role was to provide an abundance of fresh fruit, herbs, vegetables and cut flowers for the house throughout the year.
Foundations for the 12 foot high perimeter walls were begun with the North and South facing walls being designated "hot" walls (they once contained an ingenious system of heated flues). Glasshouses erected against these walls would have supplied the finest and most delicate fruits such as peaches, melons, grapes, pineapples and apricots, a major challenge for gardeners of the day.
Inevitably, much of the cultivated area fell into disrepair after the Second World War, until the creation of the garden centre in 1976. The gardens, which include a rock garden created within and around an old stone quarry in about 1868, were recently accepted into the RHS Partner Gardens scheme.
The submission of an application for a £50m retail mixed use development at the heart of the Waverely new community site in Rotherham has led to the landowners, Harworth Group, making changes to the overall masterplan.
Approved in 2010, the largest, most complex, planning application ever considered by Rotherham Council gave outline approval for South Yorkshire's largest ever brownfield development, creating a new 3,890 home community across 741 acres.
The masterplan has been updated a number of times since then, responding to changes in the market relating to the houses being built and their density, and the type of commercial and employment use on the site. Transport schemes, like a proposed park and ride, have been scaled back and the timings of when road improvements take place have been amended.
In May, Harworth Group plc established a joint venture company, Waverley Square Limited, with Dransfield Properties, the Barnsley-based company that specialises in retail led regeneration schemes, to bring forward the "the piece of the jigsaw" between the residential and commercial developments at the regeneration site on the former Orgreave coking works.
Advertisement The latest application shows that there was little interest from retail agents and potential occupiers in the retail scheme approved as part of the original masterplan that placed retail and community uses on the other side of the housing development, and away from the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).
The main change to the masterplan relates to the creation of a more centrally located mixed use centre. The area previously planned for retail and community use is set to be replaced by further housing and as a site for one of two new primary schools. The sponsor of the first school is set to be announced soon.
"Waverley Waterside" is now intended to be secondary to the proposed main mixed use centre and is expected to be brought forward further into the 20 year development plan.
The waterside area would include around 14,000 sq ft of retail floorspace compared to the 100,000 sq ft planned for the latest scheme on the land previously know as Highfield Commercial.
The plans, drawn up with Barton Wilmore consultants, state: "In terms of timescales, given the need to progress with the development of a mixed use centre in the shorter term to serve the growing residential and business community, and the commercial and market advice given to date, it is proposed to bring forward the main mixed use centre on Highfield Commercial in advance of the secondary Waverley Waterside local centre to ensure a deliverable and market facing set of services and facilities are provided at the heart of Waverley on a visible and prominent site which has the frontage to attract retailers in the short term.
"It is then expected in time that this will attract further commercial interest in Waverley which would allow the remaining 1,300 sqm of retail floor space and ancillary commercial and community uses to come forward at a smaller local centre at Waverley Waterside as the amount of housing continues to grow and this part of the site is developed out in the future.
"This single smaller secondary local centre is intended to complement the larger main centre being provided on Highfield Commercial. The phasing for Waverley has always reflected this in any event with the Waterfront Character area being developed as part of the final fourth phase [2028 - 2032]."
Waverley Waterside is considered as the recreational destination for the development. It is described in the latest masterplan: "On the lake edge mixed use elements such as cafes, bars and retail will face directly into a space - the start of a public promenade that fronts the lake edge and guides people around its southern edge to play areas and circular walking routes."
In addition to relocated some of the areas, the applicants are also proposing to push back the start date for some of the transport improvements committed as part of the original application. For example, the improvements to Main Street and Treeton Lane are now proposed from when 1,000 dwellings are occupied which should be in 2021, rather than 500 which is much sooner.
Also on the Waverley site, national land management charity, the Land Trust, has signed an agreement with Harworth to manage the greenspaces around new residential developments. The masterplan includes some 350 acres of public open space.
