Planning Application 11/00143/FUL (Amended)
The application filed in January 2011, and amended in December 2012 in response to comments from English Heritage and other parties, is for " ...
Partial demolition of the buildings and construction of a
new food store, and reconfiguration of the car parking". Full details of the application, subsequent modifications, and comments from members of the public, can be viewed on the MK Council Public Access website.
In May 2010, a public consultation exercise was carried out by the owner's agents, Barton Willmore: the display boards showing three alternative options for the re-development can be viewed here.
There are many errors, omissions, and inaccuracies in the planning documents submitted by the applicants and their consultants - you can read about some of these on our 'Dodgies' (dodgy dossier) page here >>
This amended Planning Application was unanimously rejected by the MKC Development Control Committee on March 14th 2013 >> go to the News page for more information.
In May 2010, a public consultation exercise was carried out by the owner's agents, Barton Willmore: the display boards showing three alternative options for the re-development can be viewed here.
There are many errors, omissions, and inaccuracies in the planning documents submitted by the applicants and their consultants - you can read about some of these on our 'Dodgies' (dodgy dossier) page here >>
This amended Planning Application was unanimously rejected by the MKC Development Control Committee on March 14th 2013 >> go to the News page for more information.
Shoe-horning a massive square box supermarket into the Close
The existing site on the left, the proposed supermarket cross-hatched in black on the right (click for commentary)
Drawings courtesy of Iqbal Aalam
What would go?
'Partial demolition' might be taken to imply that only a small proportion of the existing buildings in the Close would be demolished. This is not the case: in fact, it is proposed that the following buildings would be completely demolished and carted away for landfill:
In addition, 46 (initially 51) of the 67 mature trees in the Close will be uprooted, and the remainder of the original orchard and lawn to the north of the office block concreted over, to make way for more parking spaces and easier access for delivery vehicles.
- the existing Budgens supermarket
- the Stony Dental Practice
- the office block (2,350 sq m floor space)
- and the small Tatoo parlour.
In addition, 46 (initially 51) of the 67 mature trees in the Close will be uprooted, and the remainder of the original orchard and lawn to the north of the office block concreted over, to make way for more parking spaces and easier access for delivery vehicles.
What would be built?
A single supermarket building, occupying the area of the current store and dental surgery, and more, of 1565 sq m of retail floor space (2,515 sq m gross, including storage etc), surrounded by a re-landscaped car park. The building itself would be a predominantly glazed structure, breaking the continuity of the current overall red-brick colonnaded design of the Close running from the High Street to Silver Street.
Parking
There are currently 127 free public car parking spaces in the Close (out of a total of 180), 69 of which are for all-day use, the remaining 58 spaces (directly outside Budgens), are limited to 2 hours. The revised application proposes public parking for 149 cars, originally limited to 3 hours, but now reduced to 2 hours, 7 days a week (which is unlikely to encourage supermarket shoppers to visit the High Street shops, pubs, and restaurants). The proposed removal of 62, free, all-day parking spaces is likely to increase congestion in neighbouring streets, and will further inconvenience local residents living in the immediate vicinity, who already have on-street parking problems,
Traffic
For a market town of its size (less than 6,000 population), traffic movements in the centre are already close to, or at, saturation levels. The developer's traffic assessment shows that the number of car trips into the Close will more than double (from 1058 to 2263 daily trips) if the proposal goes ahead. This is hardly the 'slight' increase in traffic claimed in the Application.
The developer's traffic assessment also reveals that the number of trips by HGV delivery lorries per 24 hour period would quadruple, from the current 2 per day at off-peak periods, to 8 per day, including 2 at peak traffic periods. Given that the only vehicular access to the site is through the archway on Silver Street, this is clearly going to drastically worsen the existing congestion and increase the frustration levels of pedestrians, motorists, and residents (see the slide show below).
The developer's traffic assessment also reveals that the number of trips by HGV delivery lorries per 24 hour period would quadruple, from the current 2 per day at off-peak periods, to 8 per day, including 2 at peak traffic periods. Given that the only vehicular access to the site is through the archway on Silver Street, this is clearly going to drastically worsen the existing congestion and increase the frustration levels of pedestrians, motorists, and residents (see the slide show below).
Loss of facilities
During the estimated minimum 18 month period of demolition, re-building, and re-landscaping, there would be no equivalent retail store to Budgens for local people to do their food shopping. Unless the developers provide alternative temporary facilities, people would either have to restrict their diet to meat, eggs, and bread (there are still two butchers and a baker in the High Street, thankfully), or travel to the nearest supermarket, two miles away, in Wolverton. The NHS Dental Practice would either leave the town or have to go through the upheaval of re-locating to other premises in Stony, and the several hundred people who make daily use of the car park in the Close will have to park elsewhere in the town - either in the other, already busy car parks, or in congested neighbouring streets.
Localism... or a victim of globalisation ??
The Localism Act, given Royal Assent on 15 November 2011, enshrines the principle that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the people they affect. Localism can also mean allowing local people to set priorities and become involved in decisions about the future of their area.
The buildings in Cofferidge Close (apart from the row of town houses) are owned by an Australian pension fund, a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank. The properties and site are managed by CBRE Investors, a global corporation with its HQ in Los Angeles and offices in 21 countries; it is described on its website as “....A global real estate investment management firm with $37.6 billion in assets under management. The firm sponsors investment programs across the risk/return spectrum for investors worldwide .. organized into focused operating units that provide direct and indirect investments." The Planning Application on behalf of CBRE Investors, has been drawn up by their agents, Barton Willmore, whose Head Office is in Bristol.
None of the people involved in drawing up this Application, as far as is known, live anywhere near Stony Stratford, or have any personal involvement in the life of our community.
The buildings in Cofferidge Close (apart from the row of town houses) are owned by an Australian pension fund, a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank. The properties and site are managed by CBRE Investors, a global corporation with its HQ in Los Angeles and offices in 21 countries; it is described on its website as “....A global real estate investment management firm with $37.6 billion in assets under management. The firm sponsors investment programs across the risk/return spectrum for investors worldwide .. organized into focused operating units that provide direct and indirect investments." The Planning Application on behalf of CBRE Investors, has been drawn up by their agents, Barton Willmore, whose Head Office is in Bristol.
None of the people involved in drawing up this Application, as far as is known, live anywhere near Stony Stratford, or have any personal involvement in the life of our community.
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This site has been created and is administered by a group of independent residents of Stony Stratford
This site has been created and is administered by a group of independent residents of Stony Stratford