On 4 Jan 2013 at 11:57am bastian wrote:
Can I advise those who have posted her go to both the LCLT meeting and the Santon meeting. We should be working with the LCLT on this.
If this gets through the National Park Authority here it will have repercussions on other national parks in the country. We need to find out if other parks would allow this kind of build within the boundaries.
On 5 Jan 2013 at 12:23am Follower wrote:
Quite right Bastian.
On 5 Jan 2013 at 7:58am Pete wrote:
I'll be there....
On 5 Jan 2013 at 10:42am John Stockdale wrote:
Just caught up with part 1 and part 2 of this thread. Archie Tech is right when he says the worst strategy for the community is:
1. Outright opposition to any sort of development.
2. Disagreement amongst the community about what is wanted.
Santon are doing a major consultation exercise both so that they can gather local knowledge about what is wanted on the site - and also to tick the 'consultation done' box. Lewes Town Partnership have arranged regular meetings with Santon about the consultation process which Lewes CLT has been involved in and they have reshaped the questionnaire. I am on a Cross-Party Working Group on LDC overseeing the consultation process. You may remember Lewes CLT did a consultation exercise 2009-10 and we've got that evidence to check against. This development isn't just going to slip through on the nod. It is going to be studied, reviewed and debated in detail - and if it goes wrong, it is as likely as not going to be because we failed to follow Archie Tech's two golden rules.
Santon have persuaded the planners to treat Eastgate and North Street/Phoenix as a single development which we have been urging them to do all along. We have had extensive meetings with Santonâ??s Development Director, Clive Wilding including visits to developments he managed in Sheffield and Bakewell. He came with us to see Joseph Rowntree Foundation developments in York. He has been accommodating to the residents of Orchard Road and Spences Land about the Malling Brooks development. He seems to be someone we can do business with. Letâ??s hope so.
We think constructive engagement is the best strategy at present and we are optimistic about the possibilities of getting a good outcome. This will involve helping Santon make a masterplan that includes good design that reflects the style of the Town, some amenities, an appropriate mix of types of development, making provision for the existing businesses and the arts community etc. Thereâ??s no point in wondering about exactly where the buses or Waitrose, etc will go. Those are questions to be raised at the consultation for which Santon and the Council will subsequently have to provide good answers. But bear in mind that the developer will have to pay for flood defences (for the Pells as well as their own sites) and decontamination before a single home is occupied â?? and he has to get a reasonable return on a very substantial investment. Their best strategy is to deliver a quality development that has the support of the community: that keeps their costs down and brings the best prospect of a return for shareholders.
Lewes CLT are having a meeting for supporters on 14 Jan at 7.30 in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall. This will give those who responded to Lewes CLTâ??s previous consultation about the Phoenix site a chance to catch up with what the trustees have done behind the scenes in the intervening period and to give us their views. Santon's meetings on 19 Jan at the Town Hall and 29 Jan at All Saints are designed to get the views of as many people as possible about what they want to see.
On 5 Jan 2013 at 12:35pm bastian wrote:
Thank you John, that was concise and up to date.
On 8 Jan 2013 at 4:26pm brixtonbelle wrote:
Santon group are a massive develoment group and are principally concerned with profit. From their website, it's easy to see the type of development they pursue - monochrome boring identikit tescos, developments of pseudo-interesting flats, reconditioning of old buildings. Architecturally there appears to be nothing of merit, no originality and very little concern for local community.
They've also already been given 1.2m million for the Malling Brooks development from the Growing Places fund - which I believe is some sort of government initiative. So taxpayers money. I'd like to know how that is being spent and if they are being given any more for the Phenix development.
Check it out here »
On 8 Jan 2013 at 4:28pm . wrote:
its been mentioned before on this site, but I think this is the ype of development Lewes should be aiming for.
Check it out here »
On 8 Jan 2013 at 6:26pm Townie wrote:
Now regarding the above link to the painworks development, i don't class a few poncy appartments, a couple of offices and an artists studio to be benificial to the Lewes population.
BB...what's wrong with "boring monochrome identekit Tescos". What you might find boring, others might enjoy.
I can see exactly which way this development is going and i refer you back to my previous thread where the vocal (read arty-farty) minority will have the final say.
Ive mentioned before, it's not to my tastes but i bet there will be 10 times more people in this town who would prefer to see a McDonalds, bowling alley and ice rink rather than artists studios and craft centres.
THIS HAS GOT TO CATER FOR EVERYONE NOT JUST THE CHOSEN FEW
On 9 Jan 2013 at 3:49pm brixtonbelle wrote:
I think the point of the paintworks example is to show a multiple use development that has come from an old industrial site of a similar size and similar riverside location, that encourages big and small business (and not all arty farty as you suggest, Townie), has studio and workshop space of varying sizes, and also has accommodation to let and to buy. The buildings are simple and functional, mostly converrted from the original, the landscaping is sympathetic.
The space in Lewes needs to attract new businesses into the town - as many people have said, lewes can't survive on independent gift-type, coffee and antique shops. I'd like to a new business development zone with low rents and incentives to locate to Lewes. Brighton is likely to experience a mini digital boom soon and Lewes shld be trying to grab some of that and invest in new industries, not just hark back to the past. Nor can the area it just be a housing development or one big supermarket/shopping mall.
"boring monochrome identekit Tescos" are destroying the character of the country, thats whats wrong with them, Townie. Look at the examples on the Santon website - they all look the same whether in Cornwall or Cumbria. Not nods to local vernaculars and traditions, you could be anywhere - and one thing we all love about Lewes is its very particular and independent character, surely
On 9 Jan 2013 at 4:20pm bastian wrote:
I don't think there are enough people in Lewes to sustain a bowling alley of any size, or a cinema or an ice rink, by the time you've all been a couple of times a year(cos that is all I could afford as a few days out) they'll go bust.
We do need some entertainment and out of those suggestions the cinema is the best, as long as it doesn't expect to make a profit...but Santon will charge huge rents on their property to claw back their investment.
We are going to get shoddy, badly built housing that no one can afford, let's face it.
On 9 Jan 2013 at 4:21pm bastian wrote:
BB start another thread at the top, this one is too low down and it seems no one has finished with this subject.