Harborough Local Plan 2011-2031, Proposed Submission

Please see attached document

Please see attached document

Please see attached document

Jarroms Ltd are Chartered Surveyors & Property Consultants with offices in Leicester and Market Harborough. We act for a number of key land owners within Market Harborough Town centre including Rockridge Properties Ltd who are the Freeholders of the strategic land on St Mary's Road identified for Tourism and Leisure allocations under Policy RT4 in the draft Local Plan, we are instructed by Rockridge Properties to make representations with regard to that allocation with the draft Plan.
At present the site is of mixed use and includes retail, office and residential occupiers together with leisure users such as the Freemasons Public House and Training Shed Gymnasium and it is our contention that the town centre is best served by this land continuing to provide a variety of uses; furthermore the Councils aspirations for predominantly leisure uses including 'a new hotel, a health and fitness centre and associated public house, bar or restaurant facilities' (paragraph 7.7.7) is we believe unrealistic.
The subject land has been acquired by Rockridge over a number of years with the express intention of redevelopment and as such presents Market Harborough District Council with a unique opportunity to deliver on a number of its key obligations. However, the proposed allocation is unnecessarily restrictive making redevelopment less likely.
Whilst leisure and entertainment uses are likely to form part of a comprehensive development these would inevitably be ancillary to a more realistic approach which will be residential and retail led, combined with an element of office use to enable the necessary funding to be secured.
We would make the following comments on the draft Plan:
* To make any development viable along St Mary's Road it will be necessary to include a residential provision which will also assist the Council in meeting its obligations under the Housing Allocation Policy H1.
* Paragraph 7.7.7 misdirects the Council in that the retain uses along St Mary's Road does not 'dilute the current retail offer' but rather presents a low cost opportunity for independent and local retailers and therefore compliments the core retail provision. The success of the current Town Centre has made it unaffordable for the type of retailer the Council seeks to promote (Paragraph 7.3.3)
By way of illustration, in the past 3 years uses have changed at 43 St Mary's Road from Financial Services to a Toy Shop, 57 St Mary's Road; Solicitors to a Interiors Retailer and 71 St Mary's Road; Trade Counter to Antiques Centre, independent retailers all.
* The sites identified as being suitable for Retail Development within the draft are RT1 3a. The Commons Car Park and 3b Land off High Street neither of which are realistically deliverable and the Council will fail in making the desired provision by allocating retail use to unsuitable sites.
St Mary's Road therefore provides a perfect opportunity to deliver on this objective particularly if this were better connected to the Springfield Retail Car Park (7.1.6) by enhanced crossings over the River Welland to better link the principle car parking provision with the Town Centre.
If the Local Plan is to serve as a working document then its objectives need to be realistic and deliverable Comprehensive Development in the centre of a historic market town is never going to be possible and St Mary's Road offers the only practical opportunity for the Council to meet several of its obligations, however, this needs to be missed use rather than Tourism and entertainment centric.

Jarroms Ltd are Chartered Surveyors & Property Consultants with offices in Leicester and Market Harborough. We act for a number of key land owners within Market Harborough Town centre including Rockridge Properties Ltd who are the Freeholders of the strategic land on St Mary's Road identified for Tourism and Leisure allocations under Policy RT4 in the draft Local Plan, we are instructed by Rockridge Properties to make representations with regard to that allocation with the draft Plan.
At present the site is of mixed use and includes retail, office and residential occupiers together with leisure users such as the Freemasons Public House and Training Shed Gymnasium and it is our contention that the town centre is best served by this land continuing to provide a variety of uses; furthermore the Councils aspirations for predominantly leisure uses including 'a new hotel, a health and fitness centre and associated public house, bar or restaurant facilities' (paragraph 7.7.7) is we believe unrealistic.
The subject land has been acquired by Rockridge over a number of years with the express intention of redevelopment and as such presents Market Harborough District Council with a unique opportunity to deliver on a number of its key obligations. However, the proposed allocation is unnecessarily restrictive making redevelopment less likely.
Whilst leisure and entertainment uses are likely to form part of a comprehensive development these would inevitably be ancillary to a more realistic approach which will be residential and retail led, combined with an element of office use to enable the necessary funding to be secured.
We would make the following comments on the draft Plan:
* To make any development viable along St Mary's Road it will be necessary to include a residential provision which will also assist the Council in meeting its obligations under the Housing Allocation Policy H1.
* Paragraph 7.7.7 misdirects the Council in that the retain uses along St Mary's Road does not 'dilute the current retail offer' but rather presents a low cost opportunity for independent and local retailers and therefore compliments the core retail provision. The success of the current Town Centre has made it unaffordable for the type of retailer the Council seeks to promote (Paragraph 7.3.3)
By way of illustration, in the past 3 years uses have changed at 43 St Mary's Road from Financial Services to a Toy Shop, 57 St Mary's Road; Solicitors to a Interiors Retailer and 71 St Mary's Road; Trade Counter to Antiques Centre, independent retailers all.
* The sites identified as being suitable for Retail Development within the draft are RT1 3a. The Commons Car Park and 3b Land off High Street neither of which are realistically deliverable and the Council will fail in making the desired provision by allocating retail use to unsuitable sites.
St Mary's Road therefore provides a perfect opportunity to deliver on this objective particularly if this were better connected to the Springfield Retail Car Park (7.1.6) by enhanced crossings over the River Welland to better link the principle car parking provision with the Town Centre.
If the Local Plan is to serve as a working document then its objectives need to be realistic and deliverable Comprehensive Development in the centre of a historic market town is never going to be possible and St Mary's Road offers the only practical opportunity for the Council to meet several of its obligations, however, this needs to be missed use rather than Tourism and entertainment centric.