Maintaining the Link

Mark Dransfield is coming to town next week: he’s meeting as many local groups and interested parties as he can over 11th-12th Jan before he puts in the full application for a supermarket on the Dark Lane site. As I understand it. he’s hoping that if he gets permission by Feb/Mar and have builders on site in Jun/Jul for a twelve month build. He says he’ll be announcing the supermarket operator in February – but the strong rumour is that Morrison’s will cross the road, and Waitrose will move into current Morrison site.

It all rather dashes any hopes that follow-through on the outline application would be delayed, but I guess proof is needed that the Dark Lane site is viable to head off appeals over the two edge of town applications. So it’s all to do with mitigation now, and that falls into several themes:

Staithes Lane residents: are not happy about having car parking at the level of their bedroom windows, light pollution, delivery lorries using Staithes Lane – especially late at night and very early morning – and access for long stay car parking. Some residents are also worried about the loss of the Red Bull which would be demolished to give wide enough access to Staithes Lane for the delivery lorries.

Environment: It’s not clear how the proposed re-alignment and partial culverting of the Cotting Burn will maintain its role as a wildlife corridor.
The Wansbeck itself is also an important wildlife corridor, and the riverside walks are a major Morpeth attraction which would be marred by the delivery area of a supermarket backing onto the river. I’m particularly concerned that the trees along the river on both sides of the footpath will be lost. A lot of money has been spent through the Castle, Woods and Water (liveability) programme making the river walk attractive – lets try to avoid throwing all that away!
Then there’s the flood risk: there’s going to be a massive new area of tarmac and concrete – take a walk along Staithes Lane, downstream along the river and back down to Dark Lane from Tommy’s Field to get an idea of the size of the site. Burnside Terrace nearly got flooded from runoff from Lidls and the bus station in 2008, and Staithes Lane got runoff from three directions. Then deep concrete foundations so close to the river must disrupt groundwater flows. It isn’t enough to managing flooding on site, building must be designed not to exacerbate flooding elsewhere.

But the main thing, perhaps, is will the new supermarket damage or support town centre shopping? The real distinction between edge of town and town centre supermarkets is whether they generate ‘linked shopping trips’ with people going to both the supermarket and town centre shops. Obviously Mark Dransfield has an multimillion pound interest in promoting town centre shopping, so he’s going to try to make it work, but I have my doubts. The current Morrisons supermarket is just about managing it. However, I cannot see people parking on the far side of Dark Lane and shopping in a supermarket sited roughly where the vets is now then walking up to the Sanderson Arcade let alone the Market Place to do further shopping. To all intents and purposes, the new site is an edge-of-town site, and having the supermarket right at the back of the site makes this even more so. Maybe we just have to hope that shoppers at the current Morrisons site (whoever is running the supermarket) will increase their ‘linked trips’.

Problems with the Low Stanners Scheme

The trouble is – if too much detail is put into the outline planning application – then we are locked into a rushed scheme which may not be the best possible option. I’ve heard a number of concerns:

i) the urban design of the site – with the supermarket backing onto the river – is poor, and not well-integrated into the town centre or the river walks.
ii) Loss of the Red Bull to provide access for delivery lorries. A building is going to be needed at the ‘front’ of the site as i) – I reckon at a pinch the Red Bull could afford to lose the modern extension but stay in place
iii) Traffic levels: we’re told there’ll be about 14 delivery lorries a day, which could be kept between the hours of 7am and 10pm – that’s about one an hour. Then assuming access to the 167 space longstay carpark is concentrated 7-9am and 4-6pm, that’ll be 80 additional vehicle movements an hour along Staithes Lane for four hours a day.

Mark’s Cunning Plan

When the Morrisons & Back Riggs development started, Government planning guidance required retail developers to prove that a ‘need’ existed and that the location of the development was the nearest developable site to the town centre (the sequential test). A consultants’ study ‘demonstrated’ that the expanded Morrison’s would meet the ‘food shopping need’ of Morpeth for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, the Government then moved the goalposts – and now require demonstrable competition and proof of ‘demand’ – though the ‘sequential test’ remains. So Mark Dransfield’s ‘cunning plan’ is to use his ‘Low Stanners’ proposal to demonstrate that a second supermarket – providing competition – can be built close to the town centre, so that the out of town proposals from Sainsbury and Tesco are thrown out.

For some reason – the existence of Morrisons, Lidl, Iceland, M&S, three butchers, two bakers, two greengrocers, two delis and a cheese shop in Morpeth town centre does not meet the Government requirement for ‘competition’. And, the rumoured appearance of a small Sainsbury’s on the Market Place when M&S move into the Arcade isn’t likely to change this.

So – all Mark needs is outline planning permission with enough detail to show the plan is viable. The siting of the supermarket, carparks, delivery access etc ideally needs further consideration…

And I’m not sure he has the OK from the Environment Agency yet.

Supermarket Sweep

Mark Dransfield and his team hit Morpeth yesterday - talking to residents of Staithes Lane, and then the Town Council - don't know who else besides.

Essentially, he's worried about his investment in the town centre development if Sainsbury's or Tesco's get permission for an out-of-town supermarket. [When he talks about Morpeth as 'our town' - think of it as ownership as well as identification]. So he's bringing forward a planning application for a supermarket on Low Stanners in the hope that this will stymie planning permission for the out-of-town supermarkets.

Essentially - the Highways Depot will become an extension of the existing car park with bridges over the Cotting Burn, and the supermarket will be roughly where Robson Prescott's (the vets) is now. The car park will be two storey, with the lower level half underground - with flood water storage tanks below that. Delivery lorries will access along a widened Staithes Lane - which will require the Red Bull pub to be demolished.

He has backing from the Chamber of Trade and he was lobbying the local residents and the Town Council yesterday. And he's doing a very complicated dance with the County Council: they have their eye on the site for a new library, info centre and health clinic (replacing the Cottage Hospital). He is now trying to convince them that the NHS/NCC land along Gas House Lane (Terrace Car Park to The Willows) could be used for this. (He suggested the Willows could be relocated to the Easter Field, next to Easterfield Court - obviously doesn't know the history of that site)

Anyway - the timing is very tight: for this scheme to have any bearing on the Sainsbury decision, the planning application has to be in before the Sainsbury application comes to committe. I thought that was Thurs July 2nd - but Mark assures me it is now Thurs Aug 6th. BTW - our two 'local' Morpeth councillors on the ten-member Northern Area Planning Committee are Cllr David Woodard (lives in Ulgham) and Cllr David Moore (lives on the west edge of Morpeth).

Dransfield start work!

Finally, the Town Centre development has got underway - well, the works compound has been constructed, and work on the new bus station should start next week (Mon 21st). For a while there, I was horribly afraid they'd stop with what they've got so far - the filling station and car park (which wouldn't have got planning permission on their own).

Dransfield are holding a 'prestigious ceremony' to launch the work - with 'local dignitaries, stakeholders and retailers' on 24th July - at the Comrades Club. Don't know if they'll give Irene Brumwell, the Castle Morpeth Mayor a pneumatic drill to 'cut the first tarmac' - I'd like to see that! Oh - of course, I got an invite - unfortunately, I'm 'not available to attend'. Such is life.

I don't think they'll starting on Back Riggs or the Sanderson Arcade proper till November or December, because the Main Post Office there isn't due to close till October. And I'm sure they'll ease up in the Morpeth Christmas shopping jamboree... after all, this is a private sector development, and it's in their interests to keep Morpeth a 'vibrant shopping centre'