Wednesday 29 th March 2006 Presentation to key local stakeholders by - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Wednesday 29th March 2006 Presentation to key local stakeholders by David Lock Associates

CONTENT OF THE PRESENTATION

• Introduction to the Local Strategy
• Key issues in the Felixstowe Peninsula
• Scenarios for the future of the Felixstowe Peninsula
• Questions from the floor & general discussion

THE BRIEF

• To produce an independent study of the Felixstowe Peninsula
• ‘To formulate a long term strategy to guide the regeneration

& enhancement of the urban fabric of Felixstowe & adjoining villages’

• Consultant team commissioned by
• East of England Development Agency (EEDA)
• English Partnerships (EP)
• Suffolk Coastal District Council (SCDC)
• Felixstowe Town Council (FTC)

LOCAL STRATEGY FOR FELIXSTOWE PENINSULA

• Represents the culmination of a year long study.
• Sets out 4 overarching & wide reaching scenarios

for the future of the Felixstowe Peninsula.

• The scenarios reflect different levels of possible growth in the

coming years.

• The implications, costs and benefits of each scenario is explored.

KEY ISSUES AND TRENDS ON THE FELIXSTOWE PENINSULA

• Background documentation prepared by

the consultant team have aided identification of the key issues.

• Scenarios have been developed to

address the issues & trends the Peninsula faces now & in the future…

KEY ISSUES & TRENDS

• Research reveals some worrying trends which need to be addressed.
• Without intervention these trends may threaten many aspects of life

that the existing population, and future generations, take for granted.

• A number of the issues revealed negative trends including;

– low supply of housing which is not meeting demand from within the community or from outside, – limited economic diversity, – local facilities under threat & – a declining leisure industry.

Overview of KEY ISSUES

• The population
• Housing
• Local economy
• Education
• Transport
• Leisure

THE PROFILE OF THE LOCAL POPULATION

• A population imbalance
• More people of retirement age & fewer people of

working age than the norm

• An ageing population
• 45-64yrs = + 7.4% (1991-2001)
• Loss of young generations
• 18-29yrs = - 5.7% (1991-2001)
• 51% of people moving away from Felixstowe

were 16-34yrs (2001)

• Smaller households
• Increasing quantity of small households – an

increase not matched by the supply of homes (quantity & type)

HOUSING

• Housing development has not kept pace with

local employment growth (especially the Port)

• r the local rate of household formation

…..this leads to…..

• Unsustainable commuting & traffic

congestion…

• Due to local workers being forced to live outside
• f the area…

…..and a shortage of…..

• Affordable Housing
• Shortage of affordable housing for local first time

buyers & lower wage households.

LOCAL ECONOMY

• Dependence on the Port for employment
• Non Port-related businesses find it difficult

to find premises in Felixstowe and have located elsewhere.

• Traffic & commuting generated by local

economy: 48% of Felixstowe’s working persons commuted in from elsewhere.

EDUCATION

• School rolls are falling because there are

fewer children.

• The average household is getting both older

and smaller.

• From age 16, young people take educational
• pportunities elsewhere, especially in Ipswich.
• This could make schools unviable and

unsustainable.

• Schools are an indicator of the health of the

town itself…

TRANSPORT

• Fragile dependency on the A14
• Freight AND local traffic
• Longer distance commuting
• Due in part to lack of local houses
• Congestion due to the commuting & A14 dependency
• Missed opportunity of European links?
• Loss of passenger connection
• Poor links to Harwich passenger service
• Opportunity to exploit leisure / marketing links with continental

Europe such as the ‘Dutch invasion’ of 2005

LEISURE & TOURISM

• Tourism offer has room for improvement, but tourism will

not regain the strength to lead the regeneration of the town.

• Poor national tourism trends, especially coastal towns –

visitor numbers falling in the face of exotic & increasingly affordable foreign trips.

• 1% increase in UK tourism driven by urban attractions &

countered by a slight decline in numbers at coastal

• locations. ‘Visitor Attraction Trends’ (2005) English Tourist Board ‘Visit Britain’
• Potential marketing strategy; ‘Seafront, town & country’

INTRODUCTION TO SCENARIOS

The Local Strategy presents a choice of scenarios to guide the future of Felixstowe Peninsula. The scenarios offer a range of approaches to address the most pressing local issues. Scenarios range from limited short term intervention to long term sustainable planned growth;

• 1. ‘Do Minimum’

– limited intervention & control of negative trends

• 2. ‘Moderate Growth’

– increased intervention

• 3. ‘Going for Growth’

– planned approach

• 4. Sustainable long term growth

– address trends including the Port growth

SCENARIO CREATION

The scenarios have been developed by

• drawing on local knowledge

from stakeholder & public consultation;

• a review of existing data & studies;
• undertaking new studies of key issues;
• applying the expertise of the consultants.

SCENARIOS & the Port reconfiguration

The Local Strategy was conceived before confirmation of the approval for the Port reconfiguration, but allowance has been made for this outcome. ~ Approval of the Port reconfiguration will reinforce its substantial role in the town ~ … with significant impacts for the social & economic life of the town.

SCENARIOS & the Port reconfiguration

Scenarios 1-3:

• Developed to address the issues that the

Peninsula currently faces (independent of the Port expansion).

• The levels of intervention proposed in S1-3 are

justified by the current situation. Scenario 4: – Approval of the proposals to reconfigure the Port has increased the need for planned change - Scenario 4 explores this: – S4 is based on Scenario 3 but incorporates key socio-economic impacts associated with the Port & proposes more development.

There is no scenario in which the Felixstowe Peninsula can stand still.

• If a moratorium on new development continues…
• 1. The population will fall…
• 2. … because of accelerating reduction in household size…
• 3. … with negative consequences for services and facilities.
• But… the community can use the scenarios to counter the

negative trends identified.

Common factors between the scenarios

• The first three scenarios are detached from the future of the Port.
• No longer prudent to plan for the future of the seafront resort to be as

extensive as it has been in the past – quality before quantity.

• Tourism initiatives are not dependent on growth scenarios, but may be

conditioned by the perceived success & absorption of change in the town.

• Justification for enhanced retailing in town, including a new or expanded

supermarket & qualitative improvements to the local shopping experience.

SCENARIO 1: Do Minimum

• Components of scenario 1;
• Projection of existing trends for development of jobs & housing
• Minimal improvements to road & rail infrastructure (only change - in relation to Port).
• Likely closure of one High School
• No additional funds for infrastructure and amenity investment;
• Tourism initiatives go for quality and for speciality short breaks

SCENARIO 1: Do Minimum

• IMPLICATIONS:
• Popularity as a retirement destination =

» increased house prices as demand outstrips supply » exacerbating the shortage of affordable housing » may compromise the provision of key services.

• Non-port development very slow, not helping economic diversification
• Secondary education consolidation in one school. Primary school closures?
• Ipswich soaks up growth in the sub-region – at the expense of other smaller towns.
• Limited potential to reinforce town centre’s role & reduce leakage of expenditure
• Existing levels of deprivation remain and could become worse.

SCENARIO 1: Do Minimum

• Location for development:

– Housing development accounted for by;

» allocated development sites » urban capacity sites, inc. South Seafront.

– 311 (approx) new residential units – Development of 15.6 ha(net) employment land at Blofield & Haven Exchange

as allocated.

Location for development in Scenario 1: ‘Do Minimum’

• Urban Capacity Sites
• South Seafront

SCENARIO 2: Moderate Growth

• COMPONENTS
• Development advised in scenario 1 + additional town centre sites =
• No major new employment initiatives & no new allocations of employment land; Development
• f employment land at the Blofield / Clickett Hill site and the Haven Exchange site.
• 700-900 homes (1600-2200 people) over the period 2001-2021, inc. approx 30% affordable.
• Improved town centre offer through consolidation of retail uses in the core town centre area,

(inc. potential reconfiguration of the existing Solar Store)

• A modest food store to anchor the local centre in the regeneration of South Felixstowe
• A new, secondary school on the site of Deben High School & closure of Orwell High.

SCENARIO 2: Moderate Growth

• BENEFITS
• Limited encroachment onto greenfield development land
• A modest strengthening of the population
• Potential modest reduction in in-commuting
• No worsening of capacity of the transport, due to improvements to infrastructure
• New school investment to consolidate surplus capacity into one or more new schools
• Improved town centre retail provision

SCENARIO 2: Moderate Growth

– South Felixstowe – focus for development: urban regeneration;

• The area of greatest deprivation in the town
• Requires significant intervention to alter the direction of its socio-economic trends.
• The southern area has the potential to become a district/local centre in its own right.
• Sites identified here having the potential to be the location for high quality mixed use.

– Key site locations include;

• South Seafront
• Peewit & Felixstowe Beach caravan park
• The Ordnance car park & former bus station
• Convalescent Hill car park.

Location for development in Scenario 2: ‘Moderate Growth’

• Caravan Parks
• Ordnance
• Convalescent Hill

and sites identified in Scenario 1

SCENARIO 2: Moderate Growth

SCENARIO 3: Going for Growth

Scenario 3 components;

– Scenario 1 & 2 plus: – Promotion of Felixstowe as a sub-regional growth point,

• taking 80% of additional development allocated to SCDC as part of the Haven Gateway,
• providing an alternative location within SCDC to the Ipswich fringe;

– 1,200 – 1,600 homes (2,800-3,900 people) 2001 to 2021 inc. approx. 30% affordable – a new Enterprise Park (3ha);

• located away from the Port
• restricted to non-port-related uses.
• Approximate capacity to provide between 600 and 900 jobs.

– Retention & improvement of both secondary schools sites. – More substantial additional funds for infrastructure and amenity investment; – Improvements to Bent Hill underpinning the integration of town centre & seafront.

SCENARIO 3: Going for Growth

• Benefits:
• A strengthening of the population, population mix and housing stock
• Diversification of the economic base.
• Potential reduction in in-commuting
• No worsening of the transport links to or within the town, due to

improvements to infrastructure partially funded by development.

• New school investment to create a new primary school (required by this

scale of development) and to improve existing secondary schools.

• A stronger and more viable town centre with an improved retail offer.

Public realm improvements

Public realm improvements – potential seafront Winter Garden

Public realm improvements – Street works on Hamilton Road Increasing pedestrian priority

Public realm improvements - the Triangle

SCENARIO 3: Potential food store reconfiguration

SCENARIO 3: Going for Growth

• LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT:

1. Scenario 1&2 - South Felixstowe regeneration;

– focused development on the caravan parks (Peewit & Felixstowe Beach), – South Seafront – Urban Capacity Sites.

2. Additional development reinforces Walton as a distinct community with enhanced facilities.

– Strengthening the western element of the town. – Benefit from the existing infrastructure in this location – Reinforce the local area facilities and amenities through an increased population.

3. 3 hectare Enterprise Park as part of development in Walton.

– a better location for the Learning and Enterprise Centre than the currently proposed Blofield Park. – dissociated from port activities – The Enterprise Park would expand and diversify the Felixstowe economy.

4. A14 acts as a permanent defensible barrier between the Walton & Trimley St Mary

• development of land designated as Protection of Open Character will not result in coalescence.

Location for development in Scenario 3: ‘Going for Growth’

• edge of Walton

and sites identified in Scenario 1& 2

SCENARIO 3: Enhancing Walton

SCENARIO 4: Sustainable large scale growth

Scenario 4 components:

• Components identified in the ‘Going for Growth’ scenario, PLUS:
• Consequence of the expansion plans at the Port of Felixstowe;
• The creation of 620 jobs in Felixstowe
• & an additional 860 indirect & direct jobs across the Haven Gateway
• Residential development to accommodate new employees:
• between 600 – 1500 homes across the Haven Gateway
• At least 600 homes should be within the Felixstowe Peninsula

SCENARIO 4: Sustainable large scale growth

Benefits identified in the ‘Going for Growth’ scenario, PLUS:

• Provision of housing for new employees of the Port expansion scheme, thus

providing the chance to live and work locally.

• Housing stock & supply improved by development of affordable housing,
• The Peninsula will become more sustainable through the availability of a greater

quantity of market and affordable housing for key workers.#

• Additional investment in road and rail infrastructure

will be available from large scale development, supporting port related investment.

• Secondary education continues in 2 schools
• r a single school split over 2 campuses with a common sixth form.
• This will retain maximum flexibility in terms of future expansion.

SCENARIO 4: Sustainable large scale growth

Benefits continued…

• Improvements to the tourist offer & resources focused on key projects;
• High quality development of the South Seafront site
• regeneration of the gardens
• Improved links to the town centre
• Tourist offer enhanced by investment in public realm of town centre & seafront

– creation of quality visitor attractions such as the aforementioned Winter Gardens.

• Ipswich remains focus of growth but

Felixstowe Peninsula offers an alternative growth pole

• Increased population support new retail provision helping to reinforce the town centre’s role;
• reduce leakage of expenditure,
• attracting investment and new businesses.
• Existing levels of deprivation should improve as employment opportunities diversify and

the stock of affordable housing is enhanced.

SCENARIO 4: Sustainable large scale growth

Location of development

• Locations identified in the ‘Going for Growth’ scenario, PLUS:
• The preferred location of this additional development is situated around the

Trimley villages.

• The total land identified as suitable for development in scenarios 1-3 and

around the Trimley villages could provide up to 2,200-3,200 homes approx, – at a density of 30-50 dwellings per hectare – 2,800-3,900 people, – over an total gross development area of up to 86ha.

Location for development in Scenario 4: ‘Sustainable long term growth’

• edge of Trimley, contained between A14 & rail

+ sites identified in Scenario 1, 2 & 3

SCENARIO 4: Sustainable large scale growth

Locational strategy for accommodating development;

• Utilising infill development sites which are well contained within existing settlement boundaries.

– Land north & south of High Road in Trimley St Martin

• is well contained by the A14 to the north,
• contained bv the railway line to the south
• & the extent of the existing settlement to the east and west.
• Strengthening existing communities with sensitively positioned new development which can

contribute & plug directly into existing communities, facilities and transport networks. – Land adjacent to Trimley St Martin has;

• direct access to the existing street network,
• frontage onto the High Road high street,
• & connection to the heart of the village.

Locational strategy for accommodating development continued…

Containment of development within boundaries of existing settlements can enable the protection of the most valuable areas of landscape character;

• AONB & landscape north of Felixstowe
• Land south of Trimley villages & railway line
• enhanced with improved footpath access route
• connecting Trimley villages to the River Orwell waterfront.

SCENARIO 4: Sustainable large scale growth

< Scenarios summary table

Scenario concept plan

NEXT STEPS

• 1. Hand over the Local Strategy for Felixstowe Peninsula

for SCDC & partners to take forward.

• 2. Some or all of the scenarios will be consulted on by SCDC, FTC & partners

through the LDF (Local Development Framework) process, and a strategy selected.

• 3. Funding should be sought to deliver projects identified in the scenario.
• 4. Key areas should receive more detailed planning & design guidance:

APP (Area Action Plans) or SPD (Supplementary Planning Document)

• South Felixstowe
• The Ordnance
• Walton west end
• Hamilton Road Solar food store / station area

QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION

Thank you!