News: Rotherham town centre Tesco plans updated
Plans for a new Tesco Extra in Rotherham town centre have been updated and resubmitted following continued discussions with Rotherham Council and local businesses.
The 10,000 sq m development on the site of council buildings at Walker Place will replace the current outdated store on Forge Island.
Anglo-Dutch developer, TCN is purchasing the council's 22,000 sq m Civic Site and submitted initial plans at the end of last year for a store with a total sales area of 6,273 sq m on the site of the Civic Building, Central Library and Norfolk House, plus a petrol filling station on the site of Crinoline House.
The major revision is to the planned road layout with a left turn now included off Centenary Way onto Kenneth Street following pressure from businesses on Effingham Street. As part of the development, a multi-million pound investment would be made in the road network, including removing the Centenary Way flyover.
There is also now a plan to close vehicular access onto Norfolk Street from Nottingham Street to stop "rat-running."
Following concerns on how the new store will link to the rest of the town centre another entrance is now emphasised opposite the markets on Drummond Street. A "shared surface" on Drummond Street is planned to remove any perceived barriers to pedestrian connectivity with the primary shopping area.
A number of updates have been made to the design with new mesh around the undercroft car park and a "green wall" with vertical climbing plants at the back of the store facing Nottingham Street and St Ann's. Some changes have also been made to the planned public realm area in Effingham Square.
Following concerns from the council and an assessment by retail consultants at Colliers CRE, the development will be restricted in terms of the concessions that can be included alongside the Tesco store. It is set to include a pharmacy, photo processing lab and mobile phone shop, but not an opticians.
The applicants state that the development "will help to claw-back trade lost to out-of-centre superstores, which in-turn will improve visitation and footfall within Rotherham town centre, with spin-off benefits for other town centre traders."
Planning consultants, DPP, who put the plans together, are hopeful that they will go before the council's planning board in May. The store is not expected to be open and trading until 2013, because vacant possession of the site will not be possible until Spring 2012 and it will take around one year to build the proposed scheme.
TCN website
Images: TCN / Smith Smalley
The 10,000 sq m development on the site of council buildings at Walker Place will replace the current outdated store on Forge Island.
Anglo-Dutch developer, TCN is purchasing the council's 22,000 sq m Civic Site and submitted initial plans at the end of last year for a store with a total sales area of 6,273 sq m on the site of the Civic Building, Central Library and Norfolk House, plus a petrol filling station on the site of Crinoline House.
The major revision is to the planned road layout with a left turn now included off Centenary Way onto Kenneth Street following pressure from businesses on Effingham Street. As part of the development, a multi-million pound investment would be made in the road network, including removing the Centenary Way flyover.
There is also now a plan to close vehicular access onto Norfolk Street from Nottingham Street to stop "rat-running."
Following concerns on how the new store will link to the rest of the town centre another entrance is now emphasised opposite the markets on Drummond Street. A "shared surface" on Drummond Street is planned to remove any perceived barriers to pedestrian connectivity with the primary shopping area.
Following concerns from the council and an assessment by retail consultants at Colliers CRE, the development will be restricted in terms of the concessions that can be included alongside the Tesco store. It is set to include a pharmacy, photo processing lab and mobile phone shop, but not an opticians.
The applicants state that the development "will help to claw-back trade lost to out-of-centre superstores, which in-turn will improve visitation and footfall within Rotherham town centre, with spin-off benefits for other town centre traders."
Planning consultants, DPP, who put the plans together, are hopeful that they will go before the council's planning board in May. The store is not expected to be open and trading until 2013, because vacant possession of the site will not be possible until Spring 2012 and it will take around one year to build the proposed scheme.
TCN website
Images: TCN / Smith Smalley
2 comments:
Fantastic - hope the plans are passed and Rotherham can have a Tescos it is proud of. Long awaited. Rotherham will be the place to live and the envy of other local towns.!!
It's not needed! How many "super" markets does rham need. How long has the existing site been on forge island? Right. So how long will this next building last? And when Tescos has finished with it, then what. This is a ridiculous build we simply don't need
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