Kingsley Developments (KD) directors, John Marshall, David Simpson and Abe Simpson presented their proposals for a mixed retail and residential scheme at Trewhiddle Farm.
Family run business responsible for building Kingsley Village with experience of working on a number of other mixed use development projects in Cornwall.
A pre-application has been made for a food store, hotel, retail units and 460 new homes with the expectation of being able to submit a full planning application by the end of November 2014.
The council have identified the area for development as sitting within the ‘natural bowl’ of St. Austell. The site is on approximately 60 acres of green fields, with the proposal to build the main park of a new relief road to ease traffic congestion on the A390 Mevagissey roundabout. New playing fields for Pondhu School and improved safer access for the school.
Questions from Members
Peter Moody – Commented that the proposal showing less density in the houses, open space and trees was very welcome and asked for assurance that if we said to this, and the retailers couldn’t be found, that it wouldn’t just become housing.
Where did this fit with the Westcountry Land proposal for this land and the Together St Austell scheme?
Ans: KD still working with Westcountry but we have a lot of retail contacts and have changed to a food and mixed retail which is more deliverable today. Large food supermarket stores are currently pulling back and have stopped developing new stores. Retail industry changes dramatically with click and collect and stores are cutting back on sizes. KD proposing something that they know this scheme is deliverable in current climate.
What is the retail space compared to Coyte Farm proposal?
Coyte was 250,000 sq ft. This scheme is 90,000 non-food and 18,100-food retail.
Mike Stanford – Concerned that the proposed Town Framework Plan (TFP) says that St. Austell only needs another 240 houses to be built until 2030 and this plan has 480.Concerned the plan will be refused as there is too many houses and not sure there is enough retail for St. Austell
How flexible is the plan in terms of the space for retail and the space for housing??
Ans: Reason KD proposing 90,000 in terms is what believe can comfortably deliver. However the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) dictates that we have to have 5-6 yrs of housing supply and this is looked at as Cornwall not as ‘St. Austell’. Cornwall has barely got 2.8 yrs of housing supply. The plan has also been developed based on the TFP.
Sara Gibson –
What about additional infrastructure such as provision school places and doctors for the additional houses when these things are currently already stretched?
Ans: There will be provision for extra space at Pondhu School but we are hear to listen and at other meetings it has been asked about dentists, doctors and we can work with those agencies and groups with an aim to provide for that within this mixed used development. This is the consultation stage.
Jessica Milln -
Is the link road on the plan essential? Is it not something left over from the old plans for a Southern bypass? Or can it become a hazardous ‘rat run’ through a residential area?
Ans: It is on the Framework plan on Cornwall Council as something that is an aspiration. It is not deliverable without the housing and it spreads the load to stop more congestion on the A390 Mevagissey Roundabout. Ultimately the detail of the road will be up to Cornwall Council.
Dave Halton –
What 106 agreements are you likely to have for the retail side?
How many parking spaces and any thoughts towards park and ride?
Ans: Dependant on the Council and the type of restrictions that they put in place. They may wish to restrict the retail unit size, the non-poaching agreement from the town centre. Want to contribute to the area and not to take anything away. This will provide for retailers who can’t go into the town centre and if they can’t go here they will go to Truro or elsewhere.
280 parking spaces.
Coyte was bigger and therefore more of a destination and the park and ride was to encourage use of the town centre. This plan is within guidelines with smaller stores. Require outline planning permission first before we can get retailers to sign up and then the number of stores will depend ultimately on the space demanded by the anchor tenant and the type of store they want to have. For example M&S will either do a 50,000 sq ft GM store or an 11,000 sq ft Simply Food. Only when we have outline planning permission can we go to them and ask what they would like. We start by scoping opinion and now have a list of about 35 National Retailers who say that they could be interested based on the location, catchment area and postcode. The aim is to always go to the best possible retailer first.
Ian McKend –
Who decides on what retailers should come?
Ans: We go for the best retailers that there are. The best retailer at the moment in the UK and Europe is Next. We got them to Kingsley Village; if we could get them here too we’d be chuffed. When you sign one they ask who else is interested. We don’t want this to be out last development and you are as only as good as the last development therefore we want to deliver the best tenants we possibly can.
Peter Moody –
If a lot of retailers are interested, can it be less houses and more retail?
It would be a separate application and it would be challenging. Retailers have a huge wish list of what they want to have. One of the most common is that they can’t have a car park that has above 1:60 gradient drop or they won’t consider it. We have to consider the site itself and what is deliverable. It is a £300,000 cut and fill exercise to get the flat to get them there.
Aim to deliver what hopefully people in St. Austell want: Quality homes and quality retail.
Peter Crawford –
What happens if the relief road can’t be linked all the way through to the Pentewan Road as you don’t control the land for the entire stretch?
Can this be delivered without that?
Also what 106 will be going to the school?
Why the drop in the percentage of affordable housing in this scheme to 25%?
Ans: We believe it can be deliverable and we are able to deliver the majority of that stretch of road. We plan to give the land to the school; the funding is already out there for the school to expand. We know the policy for affordable housing is 40% but we are constrained by financial viability to give us an achievable figure. The money in this case is going on the first phase of the strategic relief road that is hugely costly. Land also going to the school, expense of cut and fill for retail and planting and landscaping for a mixed-use development is all costly.
David Avery –
Is this part of Together St. Austell?
Ans: We have partnered with Westcountry Land on this scheme that is part of Together St. Austell and so it is part of that whole scheme. This is part of the plan that has been brought forward on its own merits.
Jessica Milln –
Considering the size of the retail units, won’t it be argued that they are the same size as the units that can’t be let in WRP and therefore there is no need for this retail development?
Ans: We are not in the business of building something that can’t be let.
Dave Halton –
What is the time frame and schedule for this development?
Ans: Hope to get an application before Christmas and to the committee in March. If we get approval it’s 4-6mths for 106 and that’s when the excitement starts when retailers start to take you seriously. If all goes well we hope that by this time next year the road is going in.
