WEST DORSET district councillors today backed plans by Simons Developments for £60 million of private investment in the 2.5 hectare Charles Street site in Dorchester town centre.
The plans include:
- 23 new shops, including a Waitrose with twice the sales area of the current store
- A new underground car park with 485 public spaces
- Around 50 cycle parking spaces
- A 63-room hotel
- 18 affordable homes
- Public toilets
- Offices and separate parking occupied by the district council
- A potential library and adult education centre provided and paid for by Dorset County Council
- Landscaped lawns between the development and South Walks
Simons says the development will create the equivalent of 124 full time jobs while the scheme is built and an extra 660 once the scheme is up and running, excluding those in the offices.
The planner’s view
Cllr Fred Horsington, Chairman of West Dorset District Council’s Development Control Committee, said after the meeting: “We listened carefully to the many views for and against Simons’ redevelopment plans. The committee felt that the Charles Street site offers the best option to expand Dorchester town centre. The proposal meets Government policy of focusing new shops and offices in or next to existing town centres.
“The committee concluded that the scheme presents a unique opportunity to improve the special appeal of Dorchester and reinforce its role as the county town.”
The developer’s view
Mark Newton, Development Director at Simons, said: “These proposals represent £60 million of future private investment in Dorchester at a time when few towns in the UK are seeing this kind of commitment from developers.
“The new retail, leisure and residential units will help to secure the future of the town centre, benefiting existing businesses in Dorchester as well as attracting other retailers into the town.
“We have undergone extensive consultation with the local community and now believe we have the right plans at the right time.
“Everyone in Dorchester will be aware of the long-standing desire to redevelop this site. We now finally have the opportunity to make this vision a reality.”
The council leader’s view
Cllr Robert Gould, Leader of West Dorset District Council, said: “Dorchester and West Dorset is the ideal place for local and national businesses to invest. With our population due to hit 100,000 in the next year or two, we look forward to welcoming more small independent and larger High Street names to the county town.
“We have that enviable combination – a historic built heritage and exciting plans to redevelop key sites in the county town of Dorchester.
“The retail-led Charles Street and residential/leisure-led Brewery Square schemes put Dorchester and West Dorset in an ideal position to emerge strongly from the recession.”
Consent for the Charles Street scheme is subject to various planning conditions and legal agreements.
Editor’s Note: This is a very slightly edited version of a press release issued a short while ago by West Dorset District Council. It is sometimes very useful to see exactly how organisations like local authorities chose to report upon their own actions.
I like the fact, for example, that Mark Newton says honestly that Simons has “undergone extensive consultation with the local community” (my italics). Not undertaken, but undergone, as if it had been a painful process, which you can see from their point of view it probably was.
For counterblasts see http://www.dorchesterforum.com/
Wednesday morning update
Simons says that work will begin early next year. The new district council offices and the library will go up first, followed by the shops. The whole complex is expected to be open and trading by 2015.
There should be almost 13,500 sq m of new retail space, alongside 1,500 sq m of open green space on South Walks Road.
Mark Newton, development director for Simons, said: “We are delighted with the Development Control Committee’s decision. The redevelopment of Charles Street has been a top priority for the town for many years, and this decision enables that to come forward.
“The plans represent a major investment in Dorchester at a time when retail developments across the country are struggling to get off the ground. We firmly believe that the redevelopment of the Charles Street site will be of huge long-term benefit to the town centre and surrounding area.”
Mr Newton continued: “We’d like to thank all those who have supported the scheme, especially those who took the time to write and inform the council of their views.
“We now look forward to working with West Dorset District Council, local businesses and the people of Dorchester to ensure this development is successful.”
There’s a report of the meeting, with a useful list of how councillors voted, here
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The right plans?
“We have undergone extensive consultation with the local community and now believe we have the right plans at the right time”
Extensive consultation? In Bridport, Beaminster, Sherborne, Cattistock and the villages?
I missed the one near me then.
From the Dorset Echo:
“Principal planning officer for the council Andrew Martin explained at the start of the meeting that members would be voting on a hybrid application. This meant they were being asked to give full approval for the council office and library and outline permission for the rest of the scheme”
So after 30 years they still haven’t sorted out a full scheme? I thought they had “the right plans”? What if they were to build the council offices, promise 660 new jobs and then investors and Mr Evans can’t agree over the new development.
(From Dorset Echo: “Councillors were asked to vote on a recommendation to delegate power to approve the application to director of planning and community authority David Evans”)
Anyway, who cares it’s only my hard earned council tax, and yours.
“We’d like to thank all those who have supported the scheme, especially those who took the time to write and inform the council of their views”
I bet you do.
What should the people of West Dorset do now then? I wonder if the brand new library will have books on “How to get Councillors to actually listen to people who pay taxes”. I’ll have to drive all the way there to find out.
Can’t wait.
I was at a Council meeting when Robert Gould said that Charles Street had been ‘TOP PRIORITY’ for the past 30 years. God help something that is NOT top priority then!
The more I see and hear at Council meetings, the more I believe it is a cosy little club – they spend half their time congratulating themselves as being a forward thinking, progressive council – and one of the female councillors is such a sychophant where Robert Gould is concerned!
Just spent a day in London talking with civil servants at heart of Govt… The Coalition apparently want to replace Council Leaders AND Chief Execs with a single more powerful mayor voted in by local people in each area… can’t wait to see the impacts in Dorset if this happens – may have to change my profile name!
What exactly is the objection to this development? I’m guessing that it is to do with the Council offices.
Sure, the cost is about £10m (I believe the latest estimate is about £1m lower than budgeted) but why does anybody think that this will have a negative impact on the Council Tax? The existing buildings will be sold for residential (many affordable town centre homes included) and commercial re-development. What will these buildings fetch? There are an awful lot of them so quite a proportion of the development costs. The Council will save an estimated £150k per annum in running costs in the new building. Working will be far more efficient. But, most importantly, to remain in the exisitng mish mash of buildings, millions will have to be spent to bring them up to standard.
So, what is best? Move to a new smaller, purpose designed building with lower running costs or stay where they are in an inefficient set of buildings, pumping good money after bad?
Sounds like a no brainer to me.