Rebuilding Bromley

Bromley has joined nearby Croydon in ambitious plans for town centre regeneration.

The Bromley master plan names 12 opportunity areas for offices, hotels, housing and, in particular, shops, in a £1 billion plan that will need private developer involvement. Among the sites is one west of the High Street that could have 19,974 sq.metres (215,000 sq.ft.) of shopping and 1,180 residential units. Included in the proposals is a major extension of the Glades Shopping Centre.

Two sites have already gone to developers; Land Group will turn the town hall into a 150 bedroom hotel and Cathedral Group will embark on a £300 million scheme in Westmoreland Road.

In the case of Croydon, the master plan for the key site between George Street to the north and the High Street to the west, in the heart of the metropolitan centre, has been up for public consultation in September and October.

The area has some impressive buildings, such as the art deco Gas Board property and also the headquarters of Nestle UK, but it suffers from a poor quality public realm and the legacy of the 1960s St George’s Walk Shopping Precinct.

Bromley based Jeff East of Acorn has already put together a deal for a Travelodge in the town, one of four in the immediate area, the others being in Sidcup, Bexleyheath, and East Grinstead (which will have a Wilkinson store as part of the scheme).

"Generally speaking the lettings we have transacted have been small. The investment activity has been from private buyers, such as the portfolio of 11 freeholds we sold, three of them let to Swintons," East said. He noted that business had become harder in the past two months "but we have had a good year and double that of 2010."

Cauldwell joins Prince

The role of local entrepreneurs in regenerating their areas has been a key factor in many parts of the UK, not least in the North West through John Whittaker of Peel.

Now we have John Caudwell, who created a successful mobile phone business employing thousands in Stoke-on-Trent, with his involvement in the conservation and regeneration of the Middleport Pottery in his home town.

This has also become another project for the Prince of Wales’ charity, Tthe Prince’s Regeneration Trust. The objective is to create local jobs, attract new business to the area and ensure that production of the Middleport blue and white Burleighware remains in Stoke.

“In an era of invisible and largely electronic economy, it is sometimes forgotten that everything we know today was built on an industrial and manufacturing revolution, which bred incredible craftsmen and products and made Britain a manufacturing powerhouse.

Coming from an engineering background myself, I really appreciate the skills required in making and producing quality products,” Caudwell said.

He added that “nowhere on earth are the skills and craftsmanship of working with clay, water, heat and colour so deeply imbedded in the DNA of the population and it is crucial that this is preserved in Stoke.”

Stoke already benefits from the skilled development by St Modwen, which has now submitted a planning application for the latest phase of the Etruria Valley development, an area which is at the heart of the city’s pottery history.

This will see an increase of 16 acres in the Etruria Valley Business Park, which is part of the wider Festival Park area, once the home of the Shotton Iron and Steel Works. The joint venture of St Modwen and the city’s regeneration company aims to build a mixture of offices, manufacturing and storage space.

Since the regeneration plan for the area was launched in 1988, there has been development of 125,415 sq.metres (1.35 million sq.ft.) which has included a large contact centre for Vodafone and a new factory for Wade Ceramics.

Inland Port for Doncaster

The pace is also quickening at Doncaster where there are ambitious plans for new transport links and regeneration. Top of the list is a new £400 million plan to build Britain’s largest inland port and logistics park. This is the result of a deal between Helios Europe, SEGRO and Shepherd Developments for a site at Rossington, near Doncaster.

It is designated as an inland port because it will have customs clearance and bonded warehouses in a total scheme of 534,175 sq.metres (5.75 million sq.ft.), all linked by rail and direct motorway access. The key target is for goods from Felixstowe to be shipped inland to the port, which is on Junction 3 of the M18. Mike Hughes of Helios Europe said: “Doncaster is acknowledged as a premier location for logistics in the UK.” Meanwhile, construction by Vinci has started on the joint venture (council/Muse Developments) at Doncaster’s new performance venue with completion due in 2013. The new link road to Junction 3 of the M18, a key part of the inland port, is also taking shape. Muse Developments’ Michael Broadhead said: “The civic and cultural centre is really taking shape.”

Timing

Mike Slade of Helical Bar is renowned for the timing of his deals that catch the market on the move in either direction, up or down. So Helical Retail’s purchase of a 53,000 sq.metres site at Reddings Lane, Birmingham from Eaton Electric is a positive point for the city. This company is a joint venture of Helical Bar and Oswin Developments of Solihull. Helical Retail plans a 6,976 sq.metres (75,092 sq.ft.) Asda supermarket and a similarly sized retail park.

This is part of a large (£50 million) regeneration plan which includes an industrial scheme being developed by Mucklow.

Showing the way

As politicians struggle with the closure of the massive Pfizer research base at Sandwich, now renamed Discovery Park, they will surely take a long look at the examples of Kent Science Park (KSP) and Kings Hill.

Each of these is a model of intensive and focused management together with the benefits of long term investors, La Salle Investment Management at KSP and Liberty Property Trust at Kings Hill. The problem at Sandwich is the sheer scale of the site with 278,700 sq.m. of laboratory, storage and office space. Enterprise Zone status will help but CBRE still faces a mammoth task.

In the case of KSP, the former Shell facility has been turned into a science park with a range of high technology companies in 55 acres of landscaped grounds serviced by a range of amenities such as a café and shop, gym and swimming pool together with meeting rooms and a lecture theatre. There is planning permission to expand on an adjoining site which will allow for future growth. That is the focus of Site Director, James Speck, and his experienced staff. "The expansion of Sheerness and the location of the Vestas wind turbine factory there will put pressure on the infrastructure, as will the regeneration of Sittingbourne town centre."

That will lead to upgrading of the transport and power supplies, he says, including the vital link to the M2 motorway which will become more important as Sheerness and KSP grow. That link could come from the northern relief road for Sittingbourne. Speck says simply: "The future is bright. Never forget that we have some big businesses in this area and we are a jumping off point for continental Europe."

Another important pointer to the future is that Speck has fostered relationships with universities, including Greenwich, Imperial, University College London (UCL) and Kent. Another peg for the future plans is closer ties with France to foster cross channel business activity.

Given the nature of the occupiers, such as the recently arrived Toximet, a product of the University of Greenwich, it is not surprising that KSP has an advanced broadband network. "We are looking at the idea of clustering that would link small operators and we have the facilities to foster that, including speculatively built laboratories to suit individual needs," said Speck. His success shows with the steady rise of the occupancy rate which is 77% now and will reach 82% by the year’s end.

Salmon Flys

A joint venture between Salmon Harvester & Frogmore Developments is planning a major new HQ building and hotel on a prime 10 acre site next to Edinburgh Airport. The

JV behind the £300m proposal has claimed it could generate £4.4bn for the Scottish economy and create 3,600 jobs within 20 years. Salmon Harvester is also planning a mixed use scheme with NF Mutual at 50 Argyle Street in conjunction with the adjoining Punch Taverns. The scheme will have a new retail unit and a pub to replace the Cairns Public House together with a hotel on the upper parts. The end investment value is estimated at £12m.

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High in Eastleigh

Eastleigh has been one of the best performing towns in the region with all the markets benefiting from the fine transport system of the M27 and M3 motorways, fast rail connections and the airport. In the office sector, occupancy remains high, said Ben Welch of Goadsby, helped by “affordable accommodation.”

Welch cites the success of Eastleigh Borough Council in disposing of their properties, such as the Black Horse Building where only a small amount of space is vacant. It is a similar picture for industrial property, typified by the council’s Shakespeare Business Centre which is almost fully occupied. Paul Ramshaw of Eastleigh Borough Council said: “The town centre continues to go from strength to strength, such as the arrival of the Cheque Centre which has brought new jobs and helped maintain the high level of high street occupancy.“

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Fair wind for Weymouth

While many parts of the UK have experienced trying commercial property markets, the south coast has bucked the national trend with a period of improvement.

That applies from Hampshire to Dorset. The major urban areas have benefited from their broadly based economies, taking in services and manufacturing, but it is noticeable how Weymouth, not noted for either of these two activities, has become more dynamic. Of course that is mainly due to it being the host for the 2012 Olympic yachting events but the hope must be that it has been given a new lease of life that will break the log jam of development.

It is clearly apparent how the town now buzzes with activity, helped by a new main road. At the moment it appears that Weymouth is a star performer for the regeneration lobby. The market in the core area of Southampton and Portsmouth, (the Solent corridor) has been solid and even retailing has not been as poor as in many parts of the UK. Russell Mogridge of Hughes Ellard said: “The office level of take up in the region is above pre-recession levels at the end of the third quarter, reaching 32,515 sq.m. compared with the 10 year average of 23,225 sq.m.“ A significant part of this has been at Highcross’ new business park, Lakeside in Portsmouth. This has reached a 65% let in building 1,000 by achieving 9,290 sq.m. of lettings this year. Phase two of the development will begin soon.

Among the trends noted by Mogridge are companies relocating to single floor plates to aid team performance and staff morale as well as improving their working environment. “We have seen movement in the professional service sector, such as recruitment, legal and accountancy,” he added. Nik Cox of Hughes Ellard said: “We are hoping that the out of town activity will percolate to the Southampton city centre, which has seen a limited office take up, probably reflecting the lack of Grade A space available.” Cox also noted that the manufacturing sector had been active and reflected the diverse economy from shipbuilding, defence and high tech. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Jason Webb said: “There are still significant opportunities for occupiers to obtain costs savings on the M27 but the lack of speculative office development means that the pipeline will remain severely limited and as Grade A supply reduces further, the window of opportunity for tenants is expected to close.”

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Third time lucky

Councillors in Watford will be hoping that it is third time lucky for the redevelopment of the town centre. They had been faced by the second choice developer, London & Regional, pulling out of the project because apparently it wants “to concentrate on the core business.” They had taken over from Capital Shopping Centres for the 37,160 sq.metres (400,000 sq.ft.) Charter Place scheme.

Now the baton has passed to Henry Boot Developments as the council’s joint venture partner. This has been a real problem for many towns throughout the UK as the decline in the economy hit home and developers pulled out of shopping centre schemes. The one comforting piece of information at the moment is that the increase in the number of empty units in shopping centres has, according to the latest surveys, halted although still leaving some centres with athird of the shops empty.

Cambridge builds for student boom

As part of a mixed use scheme on 26 acres around Station Road, Cambridge, Powell Williams, the project management firm, is to manage the £40 million construction of student accommodation. Student housing has been one of the growth sectors for the property industry in the current period of hard economic times. In the case of Cambridge, it will be 511 bedrooms in three buildings for Anglia Ruskin University.

Andrew Marshall of Powell Williams commented: “The growing requirement for high quality student accommodation shows no sign of waning and demonstrates how this one area of the market is booming, while others are suffering. Such schemes are offering one of the only streams for new build investment opportunities in the current market.” The key to this is that such schemes can raise private capital; in this case forward funding from LaSalle Investment.

John Yeend of LaSalle said: “This project offers a unique opportunity to participate in the reinvigoration of this part of Cambridge through the development of new facilities for Anglia Ruskin University, alongside the wider development of new homes, hotels, shops, offices and public space.” The scheme has been designed by TP Bennett Architects and is designed to meet the BREEAM excellent sustainability rating, which is an increasingly important requirement on new buildings.

According to Mike Ayton of Juniper Estates, the Cambridge office market continues to be active and the first half take up, together with deals in the pipeline, indicates that the total for the year will be over 37,160 sq.metres. “Companies like Jagex and Arm are expanding and we are getting to the point when developers need to go for speculative schemes. The vacancy rate for good buildings is only 3.5%.

Looking to the future

Two major projects are leading the way in the economy of the region, offering a focus for future growth.

The attraction is that Peel’s MediaCity and expansion plans for Manchester Airport are in sectors that offer extended growth and the use of technology. Indeed, the scale of both projects is exceptional for a regional city. MAG Developments has selected Jones Lang LaSalle and Drivers Jonas as leaders of planning and commercial delivery of Airport City, the Enterprise Zone project, the initial stages of which were worked up by Urban Strategies of Canada.

MAG’s John Atkins commented: “This will not be one development but a place making project over a 10 to 15 year period. It is imperative that we ensure that Airport City is of the highest quality and international standing.” The development has already received occupier enquiries.

At the moment the main demand is expected from logistics, freight forwarders, advanced manufacturers, research and development and health related users. Bob Dyson of Jones Lang LaSalle said: “It can evolve into an integrated business district in its own right providing a comprehensive range of commercial facilities, services and revenue streams.”

Charlie Cornish, MAG Chairman, said Airport City could create 7,000 jobs as well as create revenue for re-investing in Greater Manchester. The development is taking place on land between the airport and Wythenshawe, to the north of the airport. Important connections are to the University Hospital of South Manchester (UHSM) Mediapark initiative and the regeneration of the town centre.

It will require considerable investment in the infrastructure, which will help the whole of south Manchester. But it has the advantage of the airport’s international network.

This connectivity can be seen with the all inclusive package which MAG has launched, aimed at attracting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and start up businesses to newly refurbished offices.

The property is 308 Avro Way where suites up to 186 sq.metres (2,000 sq.ft.) are being offered at an all inclusive price of £215.20 a sq.metre (£20 a sq.ft.). Will Kennon of letting agent CB Richard Ellis, joint with Regional Property Solutions, said: “Locations such as the airport are becoming more popular for providing a combination of amenities, an established public transport system and extensive car parking.”

John Lewis leads

Rebuilding New Street is vital to the Whitby vision so it is encouraging that Network Rail, on behalf of the council, has submitted a planning application for a 23,225 sq.metres (250,000 sq.ft.) John Lewis store in a regenerated Pallasades Shopping Centre over the station.

As one of the retailer’s largest stores outside London, it is the anchor for the shopping centre, which is being designed by Foreign Office Architects and opening in 2014. This is, of course, part of the proposed EZ.

Science Oxford

The popularity of Oxford as a business location appears to be increasing, judging from recent deals. One of the largest is Goodman’s plan to build a 7,525 sq.metres (81,000 sq.ft.) headquarters for British Gas at its 86 acre Oxford Business Park. It will house 1,000 employees and construction starts in September. Science Oxford bought Macclesfield House in the centre of Oxford and pending the development of a science centre the building will be re-branded as Oxford Centre for Innovation and provide offices and business support for 30 small and growing companies.

The new centre will be managed by Oxford Innovation, which already manages 14 centres throughout the UK. The wider plan is for a £30 million science centre, designed by Foster & Partners, a cultural centre for science and enterprise that will attract over 100,000 visitors a year.

Canadians to the rescue

A Canadian company has stepped in to develop the £300 million Caltongate scheme and provide a boost to the market in Scotland’s capital city.

Prism Developments is discussing taking it over from Deloitte, the Administrator, and the Bank of Scotland. The site is located in the Old Town and was the subject of a mixed use scheme by Mountgrange.

The plan was for offices of 17,187 sq.metres (185,000 sq.ft.), 200 flats and a Sofitel Hotel which encountered considerable local opposition. Prism is not the first developer interested in the scheme because Deloitte has talked to a number of companies including Allied London and British Land.

One major scheme which is going ahead in the Old Town is the £45 million development on the Royal Mile of a hotel and mixed use project in the Castlehill area by the Chris Stewart Group.The hotel will be operated by Motel One which has 32 hotels in Germany and one in Austria and will be housed in the former buildings of Edinburgh City Council Development Department on Market Street.

In addition there will be residential space including self catering apartments, six offices totalling 5,574 sq.metres (60,000 sq.ft.) and two restaurants. The site stretches from Market Street towards Advocates Close and will take three years to complete. Chris Stewart said: “Although this site was challenging for us due to its sensitive nature and historic context, we were sure it could provide Motel One with everything they were looking for. I hope that Market Street is the first of many projects which we do with Motel One.”

As far as the office market is concerned, the first quarter saw a fall from the level of September- December 2010. Even so, it was a healthy 13,935 sq.metres

(150,000 sq.ft.) in 39 deals.

Mastering the motorway

Looking ahead beyond the tough economic conditions, East Renfrewshire Council, Scottish Enterprise and Patterton SPV (in Administration) has appointed Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to prepare a master plan and economic assessment for development sites along the M77 corridor. JLL said it is designed to challenge future land use assumptions and identify options that will help long term sustainable economic growth in East Renfrewshire and the city region. Craig Wallace of JLL said: “The study will seek to identify short, medium and long term actions, as well as considering deliverability from a planning, technical and market perspective.”

Miller Developments is certainly taking the long view and is backing this up by buying sites. It has bought the 120 acre former home of the Hillman Imp car at Linwood from the Receivers of Mountgrange. The site has planning permission for a mixed use scheme but Miller is now discussing prospective schemes with the local authority.

One long term problem increasingly rearing its head is the shortage of Grade A office space throughout the UK. Mike Buchan of JLL said: “In contrast, Grade B office space carries significantly more downside risk for landlords and, while we have seen many significant releases of this type of office space by occupiers, we expect its level to remain inflated. “

Clearly the logic of the market is that more Grade B space will be refurbished or converted, some to residential use. Interestingly, some commercial values are being cut in central Glasgow, as witness two potential restaurant/retail sites in Mitchell Street, close to the top shopping venues of Buchanan and Argyle Streets.

Mark Broderick of James Barr said: “The market has quietened down compared with 2010 and is subdued with deals taking longer to complete. This is a good time for potential occupiers, but they are putting off moving.” One property that has come onto the market is the 4,162 sq.metres (44,800 sq.ft.) former Virgin Media call centre at 60 Maxwell Street, a stand alone property on a landscaped site. It can be leased or purchased through JLL.

Art leads the way

Roger de Haan, the former boss of the Saga holiday business, will see the next stage of the crusade to transform Folkestone into a vibrant economy this month with the Triennial Festival. This is a series of events in the town to attract visitors and instil confidence in the local population. At the heart of the programme is art, including sculpture in the streets, together with tours and exhibitions.

The first festival was three years ago and has already made an impact on the town. Now Margate, with its run down entertainment area, has joined Folkestone in the arts led marketing stakes with its Turner Contemporary Gallery. As part of this, there have been improvements to the old town of Margate to add better facilities. This process is in the early stages so it is hard to judge what will be the long term impact although experience in other parts of the UK, such as in Newcastle with the Sage Music Centre and Baltic Gallery, indicate arts can play a vital role in regeneration.

The Turner is just one aspect of the effort to change Margate. Others include regeneration at the Theatre Royal, Winter Gardens, Walpole Hotel and, in particular, the Dreamland Amusement Park. This is now subject to a compulsory purchase order by Thanet Council as part of the plans for revival of the art deco landmark.

The council wants to speed the process up because of the danger of losing the grants which have been made available for Dreamland. But the landowner, the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, will fight the CPO. Leader of Margate Council, Cllr. Bob Bayford, said: ”Significant funds are being invested in this project and we are not prepared to jeopardise the investment in the town. We also know how important the regeneration of Dreamland is both to local people and to Margate’s economic future. It’s a key site for the town along with Turner Contemporary and we believe what’s being planned for Dreamland will help turn Margate’s fortunes round.”

Kings Hill success

The secret of the success of Kings Hill is that its owners, Liberty International, maintain a central policy of expansion and adding new facilities. It is the long view, with the aim of creating a major investment.

The latest move is for the planning of the central area to bring in a large Waitrose and other retailing. Another aspect of this is that Liberty will invest £2 million in refurbishing the control tower that played such a vital role in this former RAF Fighter Command base. Clearly, Liberty is producing the goods because Kings Hill has achieved a high score in a CB Richard Ellis Placemaking analysis. This assesses ten elements in an area including the vision, commercial and community provision and infrastructure as well as the architecture.

Kings Hill received the highest overall score and as the citation said: “Although each element is essential, Kings Hill succeeded in arguably the most important way, reacting to local and potential demand and matching the product accurately and phasing delivery accordingly.” What has resulted is, according to the report, a clear sense of community and one of the most expensive post codes in the county.

Other components in the success of Kings Hill were the provision of public open space, with playgrounds, a golf course and cricket pitch together with access to a vast woodland area. This has helped both the

residential and commercial aspects of Kings Hill and set the bar for other business parks.

Rail stations spark deals

Another major scheme adjacent to a railway station is by Solum Regeneration, a joint venture of Network Rail and Kier Property around Walthamstow Central Station. The £20 million project will create a new station square together with a hotel and shops.

There will also be 69 residential units and improved access to the station which serves 2,500 stations throughout the UK. This includes a new pedestrian link towards Queens Road Station. Peter Hughes of Solum commented: ”We are beginning to deliver what are often complex regeneration sites.

This is our second project to secure approval and work is well underway on our first scheme in Epsom. We are advancing plans for a number of other station sites.”

Plans for the regeneration of the sanofi-aventis site in Dagenham have moved forward with the appointment of Savills as advisers on the scheme. This is a major project on

108 acres and Mark Bass of sanofi-aventis said: “Our focus throughout the process of creating a lasting legacy has been to work with proven experts in regenerating commercial/scientific premises in an effort to transform the site into a facility that offers long term benefits to the people of Dagenham.”

Savills’ Neil Rowley commented: “Our master planning expertise will deliver a planning consent that enables such a legacy to be delivered.” Overall management of the regeneration (the existing operation ends in 2013) is with SOG Ltd. Another company, ARCADIS, has already commenced the routine clean up of the manufacturing site.

A master plan for the regeneration process is being drafted with an emphasis on creating new jobs and new business opportunities. Multiple uses are under consideration including office space, laboratory/research & development facilities, manufacturing, warehousing, retail, health and leisure. Once a major manufacturing area dominated by Ford, Dagenham has widened its business horizons. For example there are large sheds for the logistics business. Wolseley, the plumbing business, leased a 13,011 sq.metres (140,000 sq.ft.) shed in Choats Road recently. Driven by the upcoming Olympic Games, there has been considerable development in the area. Another scheme is for a Creative Industries Quarter on an industrial site close to Barking town centre on Abbey Road.

This will have a mix of residential and commercial space developed in two phases around a series of courtyards and riverside spaces that have direct links both to the existing urban developments to the east and the future sites to the west. The plans also encompass the proposed East London transit bus route and a new bridge over the River Roding.

The development, which is designed by Cartwright Pickard Architects, is due to go on site this year. It will have four blocks of 272 units of residential housing together with commercial/office, retail and creative industries uses, new ublic amenity space and a riverside walk.

Sheffield city region takes off

A test of the government’s new policies of promoting regional regeneration and economic growth could come in Yorkshire with Doncaster winning £18 million funding for its scheme. There was stiff competition for the government’s seed capital of £450 million and Doncaster got the cash for its Gateway to the Sheffield City Region project. It fits with past success in pushing regeneration and continues the policy of boosting economic growth and becoming a catalyst for attracting investment.

Part of the project is the construction of the Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme (FARRRS) which is the infrastructure needed to unlock the project. Peter Dale of Doncaster Council commented: “This is tremendous news for Doncaster and the Gateway has the potential to deliver approaching 24,000 jobs in the area. The fact that we have received double the average successful bid of £9 million clearly demonstrates the confidence the Government has in Doncaster to deliver such an important scheme.”

One of the vital parts of the Gateway project is the expansion of Robin Hood Airport. Nigel Brewster, Doncaster Chamber President and Local Enterprise Partnership Board Member, said: “Improving access to the airport will have a transformational effect on the whole City Region. We must now capitalise on this by encouraging local businesses to trade internationally and encourage new investors to locate on the airport business park and other key sites within the City Region.” Brewster said a particular objective of the chamber was to “create significant positive momentum for economic growth in the area.”

The airport, which is owned byPeel, is considered to have considerable potential for increasing freight traffic and as a location for business parks. Howard Gannaway, also of the Chamber, said: “The next opportunity for the City Region will be around Enterprise Zones; we hope this announcement will dovetail neatly with any proposals to create additional opportunities for the area.”