Construction Industry News Archive
Welcome to the news archive page. This is where you will find articles from July 2006. If you would like to view our current news, please click here.
- Business chiefs welcome the marina skyscraper
- Marina facelift unveiled
- Developers create a stink
- New twist in saga of the two towers
- £10m scheme for train yard
- 150,000 homes planned for Sussex
Business chiefs welcome the marina skyscraper
Businesses have applauded a decision to give a 40-storey skyscraper rising above Brighton Marina the go-ahead.
The 420ft tower, dubbed the Roaring Forties, will be the centrepiece of a £235 million development which on Friday won planning permission from Brighton and Hove City Council and should be built by 2012.
The tower, designed by award-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre, will be the tallest apartment block in Sussex and will have a public viewing gallery on the top floor.
Mark Froud, chief executive of Sussex Enterprise, said the decision was fantastic news for the city.
He said: "This is an example of everyone working together to achieve what's really good for Brighton and Hove.
"It sends out a very strong message that the marina is worth investing in and visiting. It says we are about the future and not about the past. The marina got a lot of investment 20 years ago but it has got shabby since."
A swing bridge will connect two breakwaters at either side of the marina, allowing people to walk all the way round it for the first time.
A second bridge over the beach at Black Rock will connect the site with Madeira Drive, allowing easier access for pedestrians and cyclists.
Eleven buildings, including the 40-storey skyscraper, will provide 853 homes, 341 of which will be affordable. Other features include a multi-purpose sports court, a boules and bowling green, children's play areas and public outdoor space.
The scheme, spearheaded by Andrew Goodall of Brunswick Developments, is a reworking of proposals unexpectedly rejected by councillors last November.
Kay Metcalfe, manager of fashion accessories shop Bijoux at the marina, hoped the plans would inspire people to open more decent shops at the marina.
She said: "There is not enough variety and there are a lot of empty shops. There's only one clothes shop for men and there's not enough down here to keep people amused for the whole day."
From The Argus, 5th July 2006
Marina facelift unveiled
Plans to transform Brighton Marina by giving a fast-food restaurant and superstore a facelift will be unveiled in an exhibition.
PY Gerbeau's X-Lesiure and Parkridge Estates, which both run the marina, launched a public consultation in May on a plan to rebuild the western sector of the marina and change it into an internationally famous location.
Asda and McDonald's are expected to be knocked down and incorporated into new developments which could include residential, commercial and retail space.
Other parts of the western sector up for regeneration include the Asda car park, the roundabout near the base of the ramp access, the petrol station and cycle and pedestrian paths.
Residents will be able to ask questions and give their views on early ideas for the western sector at the exhibition.
It takes place at Shop 31, in the marina's Village Square, from noon to 8pm on July 14 and from 10am to 4pm on July 15. The display will continue in the shop window and be open to the public from 10am to 4pm between July 17 and July 21.
Comments can also be made on www.brightonmarinaregeneration.co.uk
From The Argus, 3rd July 2006
Developers create a stink
A public inquiry will be held into plans for a business park.
Developers want to use land east of a sewage tank in Dolphin Road, Shoreham, to build 12 business, industrial and storage units with parking.
They have appealed against Adur District Council’s decision to refuse planning permission.
The hearing takes place at Adur Civic Centre, in Ham Road, Shoreham, on August 23 and 24.
From The Argus, 3rd July 2006
New twist in saga of the two towers
Architect Frank Gehry will be forced to redraw his £290 million scheme for the seafront.
Last night Brighton and Hove City Council emphasised that the controversial plan for the King Alfred site in Hove would not to go ahead in its original form.
Instead, developers Karis will have to submit a revised application to the council's planning department.
The design team, led by Mr Gehry, will have to rework the planning application to ensure it conforms to the demands of the Government's chief advisers on heritage and the environment.
Both English Heritage and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) had said they could not support Mr Gehry's original vision because it failed to ensure the building would be seen as an integral part of Hove.
The advisory bodies, between them guardians of much of England's public space, said the sports and housing complex would not fit in with the rest of the seafront.
Karis has not revealed what changes it was planning to convince the two bodies that the scheme was still workable, taking into account their criticisms.
Proposed revisions have been delivered to the Dutch headquarters of financiers ING but Karis could not say when a final decision was expected.
At a meeting of Brighton's policy and resources committee last night, Conservative councillors said they were dismayed at the continuing uncertainty surrounding the development.
They demanded a full report on what was happening with the scheme to be presented to the next committee meeting in July. They said the public had a right to know if the scheme was still a viable option.
The committee considered comments by the council's chief executive Alan McMarthy which rubbished a report released earlier this year by the District Valuer that claimed the King Alfred scheme was not financially viable.
The District Valuer's Office, part of the Inland Revenue, cast doubt over the multi-million pound development. It warned the project could run as much as £29 million over budget and taxpayers would have to stump up a significant proportion of the £36 million cost of the leisure complex.
In a report to the committee, Mr McCarthy said the District Valuer has been working with "benchmark" figures which were different from the actual project costs provided by leading surveyors and verified by the council's own consultants.
However, Deputy council leader Sue John, speaking on behalf of the authority's cross-party King Alfred project board, revealed the scheme as it stands would no longer be considered by the council.
She said: "The design team, led by Frank Gehry, have undertaken further work to address the concerns raised.
"It is unlikely that the council will be asked by the applicant to determine the current planning application."
Coun John said a further report would be given to the committee when a more definitive statement could be made.
Leader of the opposition Brian Oxley said: "We are still in a situation where there is a lack of clarity and a planning application that can't go forward.
"Residents are left wondering what on earth is going on.
"There is a huge element of doubt about the present scheme and widespread opposition within the locality.
"It doesn't do for us to be having a report at some future time. It is absolutely vital it is presented at July's meeting."
Coun Garry Peltzer-Dunn seconded the amendment and also criticised the substance of the chief executive's report.
To applause from the public gallery, he said: "It was so one-sided. It was a case for opposing everything that had been said by the District Valuer."
Mr McCarthy said: "This is the modern planning process in action.
"We ask experts like CABE and English Heritage for an opinion, they provide one, and that's taken on board by the developers with a view to improving the scheme.
"And while these bodies had reservations about aspects of the current design, they didn't question the notion that a scheme could still be delivered.
"That's what the developers are working on right now, although they're not yet in a position to show detailed drawings."
Karis said there was nothing wrong with the design principles of the project.
A spokeswoman said both CABE and English Heritage were fine with the majority of the scheme and a small redesign could be made in response to the bodies concerns.
Karis managing director Josh Arghiros said: "Karis and ING are confident as a joint venture company of moving forward with the project."
Earlier this month The Argus reported that the towers at the heart of the development would have to be 12 metres higher than envisaged if the scheme was to go ahead.
Piers Gough, architectural adviser for the King Alfred project, has said increasing their height was the only way of ensuring the surrounding low-rise buildings could be reduced in size - a stipulation of English Heritage and CABE.
From The Argus, 30th June 2006
£10m scheme for train yard
Planners have recommended the final stages of a £200 million development are given the go-ahead.
Proposals for Block G of the New England Quarter, near Brighton train station, will be considered by Brighton and Hove City Council on Wednesday.
Work on the former locomotive yard could begin in September and be finished by next summer if permission is granted.
The £10 million scheme, known as Gladstone Row, includes two terraces of three-bedroom town houses, a five-storey apartment building, office space and room for bicycles and car parking.
Developers, Brighton-based Quoin Estates and Development, are being asked to contribute towards sustainable transport and a childrenís play area, plus pay for a piece of public art at the entrance to the land.
The scheme is one of the final sections of the New England Quarter development. Barratt Homes has secured planning permission for a mix of flats and houses on another section and work has begun on a language school in a separate block.
Earlier this month an application to build what would be the UKís most environmentally-friendly development was received for Blocks E and F.
From The Argus, 26th June 2006
150,000 homes planned for Sussex
Proposals to build more than 150,000 new homes in Sussex were today described as "monstrous."
A report published by the Government calling for the development of up to 7,630 new homes a year was slammed by councillors and politicians.
Already, proposals from the South East England Regional Assembly suggesting 28,900 homes should be built every year in the region have caused uproar, with protesters across Sussex arguing schools, roads, water and waste facilities could not cope.
But the Government has now hired an influential firm of consultants, Roger Tym and Partners, to come up with its own suggestions.
Its controversial plans call for up to 46,000 new homes to be built each year, increasing the total build by 59 per cent.
Henry Smith, leader of West Sussex County Council, said the proposals were "preposterous" and "a serious threat to the very fabric of a county that is already struggling to cope".
SEERA 's figures include the development of 2,900 homes a year in West Sussex, most in the Gatwick area and on the coast.
The new plans could see the figure rise to 4,600, with more than 92,000 homes built over 20 years.
East Sussex could see a similar rise from 27,000 new homes under SEERA plans to nearly 43,000, says the consultants' report.
Nicholas Soames, MP for Mid Sussex, said: "This is completely unacceptable. We must resist this. The whole thing is absolutely monstrous."
The new report includes plans for almost a million new homes in the South-East.
Peter Jones, leader of East Sussex County Council, dubbed the proposals "appalling and ludicrous".
The final date to respond to the draft South East Plan by SEERA is Friday 23rd June.
From The Argus, 22nd June 2006
