Plans have been detailed for the long-awaited mixed-use scheme which is set to form the heart of the community at the Waverley development in Rotherham.
Much reduced since previous iterations, out go the 16,500 sq ft discount supermarket and offices and in come a new piazza and 50 more residential units.
A £50m scheme from landowner and developer, Harworth, and Dransfield Properties Ltd for the land between the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) and the housing estates was approved in 2017, but this was scaled back in 2021 after a contraction in investment in new retail developments following a recession, Brexit and the COVID pandemic.
The 2021 application has been withdrawn and replaced by this new application from Harworth. It comes after plans progressed for new residential developments on the land originally earmarked for the larger Olive Lane scheme, and a £2m medical centre where construction is now scheduled for September.
Plans have also been approved for the Waverley Waterfront area which will include commercial space by the lake.
Submitted by consultants, Stantec, the latest plans describe the proposals as "a new high quality vibrant mixed-use centre at the heart of Waverley with uses specific to the needs of residents and occupiers at the AMP to create a truly sustainable new community" which will create "a new sense of place within Waverley through the creation of an attractive, comfortable place to live, work and visit."
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The plans include a new High Street that will include six commercial buildings suitable for leisure and retail uses such as a pharmacy, optician, nursery, bars / restaurants or bakery. The street will be anchored by a 4,000 sq ft supermarket and a new community centre.
The proposed new local centre includes a new piazza which will be available for a variety of outdoor uses including community events, pop-up markets and stalls and farmers markets.
Some office space is still proposed, but on a much smaller scale that earlier plans, which were considered not deliverable. The application adds that "marketing of the site has been carried out by Harworth which has also identified a lack of demand for office space within this location and elsewhere across Waverley as a whole."
The main addition is for 50 new residential units - 42, 2-bed and 8, 3-bed - which applicants say will "diversify the existing residential development across Waverley New Community (WNC) and to help give this more urban site the critical mass required for a thriving local centre" and "offer two and three bedroom properties which is unlike anything currently available across the Waverley Estate."
No affordable houses will be included on site. Instead the developer said it would pay the council to arrange to build them elsewhere.
A "bus hub" is planned for Highfield Spring and the main access is to be taken from Stephenson Way with a two-way access planned. 44 car park spaces are in the plans for the commercial developmentof Olive Lane.
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Applicants explain the changes in the plans: "At the time of the last planning consent (now expired) for main town centre uses, the national picture in terms of the retail market was very different. UK retail sales have suffered large declines in part due to Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, and increase in people shopping online and most recently the cost of living crisis.
"In this climate there is little investment in retail floorspace and developments for town centre uses are being reimagined, with overall retail floorspace quantities and floorplate sizes reducing. It is with this backdrop that the previous application was submitted.
"Since submission of the previous application, there has been a cost-of-living crisis along with huge increases in inflation and construction costs. A revised proposal is therefore now being sought which will cater for the immediate needs of the surrounding community and is deliverable. Following the approval of this application, Harworth is looking to be on site in early 2024 with completion of the build expected by December 2024. Harworth is aware of the critical need to provide services for the residents and occupiers of the AMP at Waverley. However, it is also important that the scheme delivered is viable and lettable and meets the needs of the local residents.
"The scheme proposed is a highly sustainable community led scheme, whose delivery is now critical to the continuing sustainability of the Waverley Development. The scheme will deliver the much-needed services for local residents within walking distance and therefore more sustainable than driving to access these services.
"The floorspace proposed through this application will create an attractive and functional retail centre for Waverley. It will create a new high street acting as a buffer between the Advanced Manufacturing Park and the residential properties at Waverley New Community."
Harworth website
Images: Harworth / VectorDC
Much reduced since previous iterations, out go the 16,500 sq ft discount supermarket and offices and in come a new piazza and 50 more residential units.
A £50m scheme from landowner and developer, Harworth, and Dransfield Properties Ltd for the land between the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) and the housing estates was approved in 2017, but this was scaled back in 2021 after a contraction in investment in new retail developments following a recession, Brexit and the COVID pandemic.
The 2021 application has been withdrawn and replaced by this new application from Harworth. It comes after plans progressed for new residential developments on the land originally earmarked for the larger Olive Lane scheme, and a £2m medical centre where construction is now scheduled for September.
Plans have also been approved for the Waverley Waterfront area which will include commercial space by the lake.
Submitted by consultants, Stantec, the latest plans describe the proposals as "a new high quality vibrant mixed-use centre at the heart of Waverley with uses specific to the needs of residents and occupiers at the AMP to create a truly sustainable new community" which will create "a new sense of place within Waverley through the creation of an attractive, comfortable place to live, work and visit."
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The plans include a new High Street that will include six commercial buildings suitable for leisure and retail uses such as a pharmacy, optician, nursery, bars / restaurants or bakery. The street will be anchored by a 4,000 sq ft supermarket and a new community centre.
The proposed new local centre includes a new piazza which will be available for a variety of outdoor uses including community events, pop-up markets and stalls and farmers markets.
Some office space is still proposed, but on a much smaller scale that earlier plans, which were considered not deliverable. The application adds that "marketing of the site has been carried out by Harworth which has also identified a lack of demand for office space within this location and elsewhere across Waverley as a whole."
The main addition is for 50 new residential units - 42, 2-bed and 8, 3-bed - which applicants say will "diversify the existing residential development across Waverley New Community (WNC) and to help give this more urban site the critical mass required for a thriving local centre" and "offer two and three bedroom properties which is unlike anything currently available across the Waverley Estate."
No affordable houses will be included on site. Instead the developer said it would pay the council to arrange to build them elsewhere.
A "bus hub" is planned for Highfield Spring and the main access is to be taken from Stephenson Way with a two-way access planned. 44 car park spaces are in the plans for the commercial developmentof Olive Lane.
"In this climate there is little investment in retail floorspace and developments for town centre uses are being reimagined, with overall retail floorspace quantities and floorplate sizes reducing. It is with this backdrop that the previous application was submitted.
"Since submission of the previous application, there has been a cost-of-living crisis along with huge increases in inflation and construction costs. A revised proposal is therefore now being sought which will cater for the immediate needs of the surrounding community and is deliverable. Following the approval of this application, Harworth is looking to be on site in early 2024 with completion of the build expected by December 2024. Harworth is aware of the critical need to provide services for the residents and occupiers of the AMP at Waverley. However, it is also important that the scheme delivered is viable and lettable and meets the needs of the local residents.
"The scheme proposed is a highly sustainable community led scheme, whose delivery is now critical to the continuing sustainability of the Waverley Development. The scheme will deliver the much-needed services for local residents within walking distance and therefore more sustainable than driving to access these services.
"The floorspace proposed through this application will create an attractive and functional retail centre for Waverley. It will create a new high street acting as a buffer between the Advanced Manufacturing Park and the residential properties at Waverley New Community."
Harworth website
Images: Harworth / VectorDC