Projects file

EDGE of VILLAGE housing secures tourist attraction

It is always better to have something that gives the local community what it wants when trying to secure a planning consent where there is no policy or allocation. None could be a more comprehensive example than the West Somerset Railway station site at Bishops Lydiard where 40 or so houses were built on the back of a scheme to provide this major tourist attraction more marshalling space and car parking. Sold onto a developer the site is now built out and WSR are the beneficiaries of money, land and a clearer future.

• planning
• community involvment
• marketing-values

MOTORWAY VISIBLE site – gains new allure

Foxmoor Business Park at Wellington was always a back water in a prime location until the new access came to fruition when the 25 acres suddenly gained frontage entrance to a very busy feeder road to the M5 les then 500m away.

Such strategic tactic with a relatively low cost changed the fortunes of this site with a fairly benign planning battle and this suited the owners and the locals alike. But out of policy the employment uses were once undesirable the local authorities have had to swallow their pride and acknowledge the site provides a vital part of the employment economy and bears very little trouble in terms of visual amenity or unmanageable uses.

• strategic thinking
• planning
• markets

EXETER CITY BUILDING breaks records – new living right in the heart of the city

Identifying the right building for a particular use that is known to be in demand is ultimately the developers dream provided it is acquired at the right place and in time to meet that demand. Timing is everything and this was a lucky strike at we found Trinity Court wanting to be sold just as the planning relaxation came and the market for fine space in city living was on the rise.

In six weeks from first sighting the building was acquired and in 18 months the former telephone exchange of 1970s era was turned into the best flats in Exeter with parking and modern clean lines back amongst the Georgian villas that main remain as quiet professional offices.

• local knowledge
• acquisition off market
• strategic vision
• viability

TOWN CENTRE BROWNFIELD site – maximise potential

When a site on the edge of the main town centre starts to empty out because the buildings are too old or the access is poor then new thinking is required to bring it back to life. When the site has a former gas holder and has other obvious constraints and existing long established businesses then the approach needs to be such that money is not leaked in the wrong direction and income lost whilst the new life is created.

• private property company strategic advice
• values and markets
• option and planning

URBAN EXTENSION on DEVON MARKET town

Embracing the attitude of a local authorities obvious enthusiasm for developing significant tracts of land on the edge of a town and as set out in a written local should in theory be easy, possible and produce results. But there is always an unforeseen snag. And so an application for about 25% of Tiverton’s extension proved protracted and cumbersome to achieve over a four year period with many pounds invested at risk. The snag was agreeing the legal terms (s106) which took a long time and was potentially onerous to make the project unviable. This site now is on the market

• planning-106
• marketing
• strategy

PORTBURY – BRISTOL

A well-specified building less than 15 years old is empty for five years – why? It is less than a mile from the M5 Motorway. No takers in spite of widespread marketing by national agents.

Reason: The building was not ready to meet modern occupiers.

Recognising the markets in the less buoyant economic times require something different we put together a plan to reshape and make available to those new requirements.

Two 40,000sqft units with yards and offices were created to make the building market-facing. Working jointly with BNP Parisbas.

• Aquisition
• Market advice
• Letting & sale

BROWNFIELD EDGE OF TOWN – planning and sale to housebuilder

On six acres of redundant glasshouses on the edge of town but with poor access prospects and unhelpful highways advice from the authorities. And requiring local plan buy-in and investment in the planning process. Secured funding from developer who took over five years to produce a result with a number of false dawns.

• local plan
• option
• pricing
• markets
• planning

BATH – highly delicate site with potential

Marketing a sensitive development site where the local nimbi’s are prevalent is an awkward task but better if done from a distance.  For trustees we designed a marketing plan that would not only extract the best local value but also ensure regional coverage of a site that could have wide appeal. And by tender had enough binding bids to secure a swift and decisive sale where absent trustees could be assured their duties were discharged in a timely way

• bespoke marketing
• planning research
• family recommendations

SIDMOUTH – land for option

Taking a parcel of 17 acres of unallocated but strategically possible land to the market to test the appetite from the market produced six bidders mostly of similar terms and apparent calibre. But on scrutiny terms agreed on Option to the best quality bid needed to be deciphered and analysed and understood by the landowners.

• marketing
• local knowledge
• options