Agenda item

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration

The report updates the Scrutiny Committee on the Bridgefield Redevelopment Scheme.

The Scrutiny committee is invited to comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Henrietta Achampong on 0161 474 4406 or email: henrietta.achampong@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration submitted a report (copies if which had been circulated) updating the Scrutiny Committee on the Bridgefield Redevelopment Scheme.

Significant progress had been made as follows:

·         Outline Planning Permission reference DC/050705 had been granted in May 2013 for a scheme that included a 250-space multi-storey car park, 100-bed hotel, 10-screen cinema with associated food and beverage units, shops and an improved public realm.

·         Detailed design work had been commissioned for improvement to the highways and  the rear of properties on Princes Street to improve the amenity from Bridgefield Street,

·         Expressions of interest had been sought to operate the new car park;

·         The scheme had been developed to RIBA Stage C standards and a tender notice had been issued for a contractor to build out the scheme.

·         A significant improvement had been made by agreeing to re-route buses from Bridgefield Street to Great Egerton Street to allow a greater degree of pedestrianisation and link the development more effectively with the wider town centre.

·         A detailed planning application would be submitted for the multi-storey car park, cinema and leisure complex and associated public realm improvements in September 2014.

·         An Agreement for Lease had been prepared for execution with a proposed cinema operator.

The report updated the Scrutiny Committee on the development of the design proposals for the scheme.

The development proposals could accommodate implementation in two or three distinct phases. It was anticipated that he highway and bus re-routing works would form the first phase (scheduled for early 2015) followed by the multi-storey car park and cinema block which would be developed as a single phase (from mid-2015). This would result in the remodelling of the Great Egerton Street car park to provide an at grade temporary car park on the hotel plot. The third phase of the development would deliver the hotel on the site of the temporary car park.

The Executive Councillor (Economic Development and Regeneration) (Councillor Patrick McAuley) and Rob Shackleton from Building Design Partnership attended the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The contracts with the cinema operator had not yet been exchanged and the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration agreed to write to Members of the Scrutiny Committee as soon as this had occurred. The exchange of contracts with the cinema operator would be the trigger for the scheme to take place.

·         The market was being tested with external operators with regard to who would operate the car park. Whether the Council appointed an external operator or awarded the contract ‘in house’, the Council would retain tariff control and the hours when the car park operated.

·         There had been no interest from operators to build a hotel on the site and this had been deleted from the scheme.

·         In order to facilitate the development and give the Council leverage within the area, an acquisition and land assembly strategy was being pursued by the Council. The aim was that Princes Street would become an integrated part of the town centre, well connected to the new development and to Merseyway.

·         It was acknowledged that the management of construction works from this and other potential schemes over the next few years was problematical. A report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee on co-ordinating the schemes and incorporating a plan for communicating with members of the public.

·         Hoardings could be used to manage the construction site around Bridgefield Street.

·         Officers were working to try and manage the access arrangements and minimise the conflict between vehicles and pedestrians.

·         The design team was examining the phasing of the development proposals and this would be the subject of a further report to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee. The car park at Heaton Lane was under-used and it would be examined whether it could be used more whilst the new car park at Bridgefield Street was being constructed, although it was acknowledged that some improvement works would need to take place to it.

·         A Member raised the issue of how the pavement would be repaired in the future.

·         The needs of disabled people with regard to the public realm improvements had been discussed with Stockport Disability Forum and this would continue in the future.

·         Graffiti would be removed on the retaining wall to the M60 or the engagement of graffiti artists would be considered.

·         It would be difficult to improve the rear of some of the properties on  Princes Street.

RESOLVED –  (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration be requested to write to Members of the Scrutiny Committee as soon as the exchange of contracts with the cinema operator for the Bridgefield Redevelopment had occurred.