Quays boss unconcerned by £30m centre

“dontyaknow,


As I see it Planning is difficult to call on this one.
This development would appear to be totally against Government Policy and Planning guidelines so it should be a non-starter but I see where your coming from.
Cheltenham certainly has the most to lose and as thousands of Cheltenham residents live in Tewkesbury Borough their objections should be taken into account.
If TBC grant permission the Secretary of State must surely call it in, the minimum effect should be a considerable delay although I believe the scheme should be thrown out.

At the end of the day it will probably be down to how much the Government are willing to ignore their own Policies and planning guidlines.

It could roll on for a fair time.”

“They have already been working on the plans for nearly a year Jas, planning is expected to be submitted this April.

Provided it will not increase flooding, it will almost certainly be accepted. Even if Tewkesbury Borough council turns it down, the developer will win on appeal, as the Secretary of State will allow it, the council would do well to stipulate their demands (improving the road, adequate drainage) and work closely with the developer. The Government will allow it largely because they are desperate for any economic activity at the moment.

oOme of my other thoughts on this:

Hitchens will deliver it for £30million, because they are a builder, they know what these things cost and labour is cheap at the moment owing to the lack of workaround.

The objections coming from retailers in Cheltenham can be largely ignored by Tewkesbury Borough Council as they come from outside their area.

As for Gloucester, they have wasted so much time over their developments that they only have themselves to blame if Stanhope were to withdraw from the city centre . I say this as someone who has always had strong ties with the city and I want it to do well. Kings Square is essential to the health of the city centre so I want to see it go ahead. A decent cinema and more restaurants will be fantastic at the quays.

Thomas also makes a valid point regarding parking charges. Gloucester City Centre seem to be deluded in not allowing the quays to have free car parking. With Cribbs to the South and a 70 shop mall with free parking on Junction 9, retailers in Cheltenham and Gloucester will rightly be worried, but their councils have 3 years to try and entice customers in. Of course, they won't though and in 3 years time when the retail park opens, parking charges will be higher in these 2 towns than they are now, because the councils are so blinkered they can't see the obvious.”

“Just spotted my error in yesterday's posting- I will try again.

This development would surely inflict considerable damage to Cheltenham Town Centre and no doubt hinder Gloucester City Centres King's Quarter development.
Retail in the centre of Cheltenham depends on attracting visitors from a wide area, clearly fashion is a mainstay. This proposed out of Town scheme just off the M5 would take much of this trade away and also make it more difficult for Stanhope (the King's Quarter developers) to attract Retailers to their development.
Greenfield out of Town developments are obviously far cheaper to build than City/Town centre developments such as Gloucester Quays or King's Quarter and do not bring anything like the same level of benefits to the local economy.
This scheme appears to be totally against Government Policy of encouraging and protecting Town Centre developments.

Considering how many years it took Peel to obtain planning permission for the Quays (which is officially recognised as being within the City Centre) 3 years sounds extremely optimistic especially if Cheltenham Residents sand Retailers put in strong objections."”

“He should be worried - I'm sure the new development in Tewkesbury will have free parking to compete with Cribbs, Swindon, Bicester, Bluewater, Meadowhall etc etc.

I hate paying to park, so I don't go anywhere where they charge for parking. If everyone did that parking charges at places like the Quays would be scrapped.”

“I think we should of had Gloucester Quays retail centre built 5-10 years ago and we could be like Cribbs Causeway by now.”

“It's dissapointing to hear that The Quays still cannot publicly confirm
the names and opening dates of any of the Bars and Restaurants in phase 2.
Surely it would be a major benefit to have some opening in time for Spring. The current food outlets in the Docks/Quays area seem to get totally overrun and to say that they struggle to cope whenever any event is on is a huge understatement.”

“This development would surely inflict considerable damage to Cheltenham Town Centre and no doubt hinder Gloucester City Centres King's Quarter development.
Retail in the centre of Cheltenham depends on attracting visitors from a wide area, clearly fashion is a mainstay. This proposed out of Town scheme just off the M5 would take much of this trade away and also make it more difficult for Stanhope (the King's Quarter developers) to attract Retailers to their development.
Greenfield Out of Town developments are obviously far cheaper to build than City/Town centre developments such as Gloucester Quays or King's Quarter and do not bring anything than the benefits to the local economy.
This scheme appears to be totally against Government Policy of encouraging and protecting Town Centre developments.

Considering how many years it took Peel to obtain planning permission for the Quays (which is officially recognised as being within the City Centre) 3 years sounds extremely optimistic especially if Cheltenham Residents sand Retaillers put in strong objections.”

“They are not digging their own graves but flooding them. Yet another development in Tewkesbury to send more flood water south”

“With so many retail outlets springing up, town centres decaying, and the economy nose diving, are developers digging their own graves?”