David Clark, President of Lewes Chamber of Commerce has welcomed North Street Quarter proposals for a new carpark offering 330 ‘pay on exit’ spaces for visitors to the town and local shoppers.
Said David Clark, “This is just what Lewes and businesses in the High Street need and we are pleased to see such a large amount of new, purpose-built commercial space being included in the site, which will help existing businesses to grow and will attract new ones to Lewes.”
“Tourism already contributes £50million into our local economy and we have an opportunity with this site to really make the town even more accessible and attractive to visitors and to support our local businesses.”
In March, Lewes District Council and Santon North Street, as joint land owners, submitted a comprehensive planning application for the North Street Quarter which is the result of three years of consultation with people across the whole of Lewes. It will deliver 416 new homes, 40 per cent of them (165) affordable, vital town flood defences, new riverside public spaces and walkways and well-designed workspace which can accommodate 475 registered, full-time jobs close to the centre of Lewes.
The scheme’s strategy for supporting employment in the town has three strands, the first of which focuses on building 140,000 sq ft of new, flexible commercial premises, on both Mallling Brooks and the North Street site, which can now be insured, because it will be defended against floods, and therefore offer a long-term legacy of commercial activity, following in the footsteps of the old Phoenix Ironworks which used to operate on the site.
Key to supporting the town centre is the second strand, which is provision of the new ‘pay on exit’ car parking being created in the new development, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the town’s economic heart, the High Street. Traffic and car parking was a major issue raised during the extensive three-year public consultation with people in Lewes and further surveys revealed that 18% of traffic in the town is circulating the one-way system trying to find parking.
Access directly from the Causeway into the site and car parking, which includes 330 spaces (replacing 230 existing spaces) in a smart and well lit undercroft carpark for the public and business, will ensure traffic can be taken out of the system before entering town and this style of parking will help make it easy for visitors and shoppers to walk to the High Street.
All modes of transport will be catered for through careful mapping of transport flows, by cars, foot and cycle, and the site has been designed to integrate with existing safe cycle and pedestrian routes. This improved network will help reconnect this site to the rest of Lewes, benefiting both the communities who live or work within the North Street Quarter and the wider town.
The third strand of the North Street Quarter’s economic strategy focuses on providing 26,000 sq ft of flexible workspace in different sizes, suitable for small, artisan-style businesses.
Lewes District Council and Santon North Street recognise the value that small start-up businesses can bring to a community, and a Section 106 legal agreement will secure capital to subsidise some of this workspace for start up sustainable businesses, which could include some of the existing ones on site. This will have the effect of subsidising market rents to affordable levels for start-up businesses.
It is planned that this will be managed by a local social enterprise that ensures this affordable rented workspace is maintained as affordable in perpetuity and for start-up businesses that need it. The landowners have had several approaches from people wanting to run this space and intend to openly tender this service, post planning approval and before commencement on site.
North Street Quarter plans also include a large flexible space, which can be used for making big, industrial objects one day and as a performance space the next. Much of this opens onto a new riverside public square, which offers extensive new space for cultural and social events.
Clive Wilding, Project Director from Santon North Street, said, “We can really make this happen – our application is live and with planning permission, we can start to deliver our comprehensive scheme, which will deliver the housing, jobs and public amenity that people in Lewes have asked for, next year.”
Find out more and read answers to recently raised questions about the development at www.northstreetqtr.co.uk A website including all ‘easy to read’ planning application documents is also available on a link from this site. Members of the public can also view the North Street Quarter scheme model and film at Lewes Town Hall from 8th April, Mon-Thur 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-4pm, (subject to other events such as weddings being held there).
The detailed planning application is also available to view at http://planningpublicaccess.southdowns.gov.uk/online-applications/ and comments should be given to the South Downs National Park Authority as the planning authority.