Cradley Heath development
Cradley Heath is a town in the West Midlands typical of many towns in the UK. The town centre has in recent years suffered from decline and is in need of regeneration – a fact recognised by the local planning authorities.
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council issued a development brief in response to this need and in July 2000 we started to buy properties with the view to assembling a site for development. Having acquired several properties and thus secured an interest in the site we entered into negotiations with the planning authority. They were seeking private sector funding from potential development partners for construction of a new relief road intended to direct traffic away from the High Street.
Later the same year we began negotiations with the local authority which led to a decision in October 2002 for the parties to enter into a development agreement which:
provided for co-operation on land assembly
made provision for developer contributions towards the relief road works; and
made available in principle the use of statutory powers sufficient to complete any outstanding land assembly
We worked closely with Sandwell MBC in producing the full planning application to reflect the local aspirations and both parties were committed to progressing the scheme as quickly as possible.
Since the development involved the creation of a new road, there were two public inquiries, one dealing with highways and the other land assembly. The second was held in January 2005. In July of the same year the Secretary of State confirmed the compulsory purchase order (CPO) enabling completion of the land assembly. By this stage virtually all the outstanding land assembly had been resolved through negotiations, but the local authority ensured that little delay was encountered in completing this.
Full planning permission was granted in 2006 and the store is scheduled to open in April 2007.
This project will see a regeneration of Cradley Heath and bring hundreds of new jobs to the area. The redevelopment is set to attract new investment to the town and provide local people with a thriving and vibrant modern commercial centre.
Our store will anchor the shopping centre. The scheme will also incorporate 500 free parking spaces enabling customers to make linked trips to the rest of the High Street.
Although Cradley Heath is an example of a complicated town centre land assembly it also represents a case where a developer and planning authority have worked in partnership from the outset, making good use of recent changes to statutory powers afforded to them by them by the Government. Despite this the project will still have taken seven years to come to fruition, with around six years being dedicated to the planning and land assembly process.
Key facts at a glance
Job creation
Our Regeneration Partnerships have created almost 4,000 jobs, including 2,200 among the long-term unemployed and disabled.
New stores
The process of acquiring land, getting planning permission and building the store has become much more complex, risky and time consuming.
