Regeneration of Baltic Wharf - Public Consultation Boards

Baltic Wharf - The Story So Far

2010

ALLOCATED

Site allocated for development in Local Plan

Baltic Wharf was allocated for development in 2010. TTV21 Allocation.

1996

Boatyard opened on Baltic Wharf site

2006

Baltic Wharf site including boatyard business bought by TQ9 Partnership comprising 3 local families

The site has been largely unchanged since 1996 and currently consists of 7 marine and other businesses with 20 staff employed on this 8 acre brownfield site.

Land at Baltic Wharf is allocated for a mixed-use redevelopment, including residential, marine/employment and commercial uses. Provision is made for in the order of 190 new homes and 3,300 sq.m. employment floorspace (Use Class B1 and B2). Development should provide for the following:

1. A continuing care retirement community including a nursing home (up to 60 bed spaces), an assisted living facility (up to 80 units) and communal facilities.

2. Retention of boatyard and associated facilities.

3. Footpath and cycle path provision including riverside access and connectivity to Totnes – Ashprington route and towards the town centre.

4. Appropriate flood risk mitigation measures.

5. Submission of a site specific mitigation plan to ensure that all new development does not have any negative impact on the greater horseshoe bat species and their flight paths within the protected South Hams SAC.

6. An appropriate strategy to mitigate for any impact on the A385 Air Quality Management Area.

7. A high quality form of development which integrates with the existing area and the setting of nearby heritage assets.

8. Extensive public access to the riverside.

9. Investigation and remediation of contaminated land.

2012/13 CONSENTED

Planning Approval Granted

56/1939/10/O for up to 3320 sq.m. (GIA) marine and business centre and further offices (comprising 1720 sq.m. (GIA) B2 marine workshop and 1600sq.m. (GIA) B1a offices/marine); up to 11,000 sq.m. boat storage; a continuing care retirement community including up to 60 bed nursing home and up to 80 assisted living units and communal facilities; up to 190 dwellings comprising open market, co-housing (and common house), affordable housing and live / work accommodation; up to 500 sq.m. (GIA) of cafe and restaurant uses, small scale retail, financial and professional services; public plaza; car parking; internal roads, cycleways and paths; formal and informal open recreation space; wetland area; riverside walkway; and electricity sub stations.

2013 IMPLEMENTED

Consented scheme implemented

2020

TQ9 Partnership and Acorn agree a joint venture to deliver the remainder of the scheme

2022

First public consultation of Acorn scheme

Welcome to the second public consultation event for the remaining phases of the Baltic Wharf revival. Your feedback is now sought prior to a planning submission this summer.

The consented scheme was implemented in 2013 when Bloor Homes built out Phase 1 for 95 homes.

Drivers for Change

Increased Flood Risk

• The impact of climate change has meant that the Environment Agency have set higher flood levels than it did in 2010.

• Acorn has consulted extensively with the Environment Agency and a revised safe datum level has been agreed.

• The revised level is a significant constraint to the development because to guarantee safe access and egress we need to provide a link from the wharf side development to the higher ground.

• The solution is to provide a raised deck through the middle of the site.

• This deck does many jobs – it becomes a flood and fire escape, a linear public park and it also enables us to place the vast majority of car parking spaces and vehicle movements below the deck making the scheme largely car free.

Retirement Village

• The site has been marketed for a number of years based on the existing planning permission.

• However it has become clear from that marketing process that there is no demand for a continuing care community in Totnes.

• During the pre-application process with South Hams District Council it was agreed that the Assisted Living Units no longer need to be provided as part of the scheme but that the Care Home should remain.

• The current application seeks to replace the 80 retirement apartments with unrestricted apartments / houses meeting a more general housing need.

Hillside Excavation

• The existing consented scheme requires one acre of hillside to be removed.

• This equates to approx 18,000m3 of material to be cut and removed from site in 1,200 lorries through Totnes.

• This is not a sustainable or responsible thing to do - therefore Acorn has decided that an alternative approach should be adopted that leaves the hillside effectively intact.

• This has reduced the developable area of the site by approximately 12%.

Building Regulations

• The new building regulations come into effect as of June 2023 and impose significant constraints on new developments.

• The proposal has been designed to comply with new regulations including the management of overheating and energy requirements.

Since the development was implemented, there have been a number of emerging factors that have influenced the revised proposals. These include:

Above: Design progress sketch proposals presented at the Design Review Panel

Our Vision

The development represents an exciting opportunity to enhance this part of Totnes. Creating an improved relationship between the river frontage and green space to the south west. As such, the development offers the opportunity to provide wider public benefits. Design Review Panel Response - July 2022

View A: Looking across the River Dart to the new Riverside Neighbourhood

Our Vision:

To create a vibrant & inclusive sustainable riverside neighbourhood

Our Aspirations:

• Sustainable brownfield regeneration

5

• Create mixed use employment opportunities with the potential to create up to 300 jobs

• Designed for people and not cars

• A place to Live, Work & Play

• A new Riverside Gateway to Totnes

• A place that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable

6

• Promotes healthy lifestyles - A sustainable location with excellent car-free links to Totnes and the surrounding countryside

• Use renewable energy - Air Source Heat Pumps and Solar PV

• Specifically designed to include a local bus service (Bob The Bus) to promote sustainable public transport

• Placemaking at the heart of the design process to create a new destination in Totnes

• Provide public access to the riverside for recreation or relaxation

• Reconnect with nature with access to both the hillside and riverside

• In excess of 30% Biodiversity Net Gain (three times higher than policy)

• Modern sustainable workspaces to help the community to live work and play locally to reduce reliance on cars

View C: New residential uses and commericial spaces with public access to the riverside

View D: The boatyard at the heart of the redevelopment plans with new purpose built offices and workshops

View B: Public Square - a destination at the south end of the development

Our Proposal: A sustainable neighbourhood

The Deck - a raised pedestrianised street providing high quality car free communal amenity space.

Baltic Lane - a characterful winding street at the top of the site designed around the preservation of the dark ‘bat corridor’ with homes fronting the hillside.

Riverside - a public space along the waterfront providing access to the river with pedestrianised routes back to the hillside.

Boatyard – boat storage and modern employment space providing sustainable workspace for current and new businesses.

Public Square - a public open space that creates a destination at the south end of the development with stunning views down the river where events can take place and the community can come together.

Care Home - a purpose built care home providing 55 bed spaces.

Undercroft - Car parking, bin and bike storage plus mechanical plant space are all hidden away under the deck enabling much of the development to be car free, improving the quality of the public realm.

CGI viewpoints - refer to vision section

*95 of which have been delivered in Phase 1

Our Proposal: Sustainability and biodiversity

CARBON REDUCTION

The proposal has been designed as a sustainable neighbourhood. To achieve this a number of carbon reduction strategies have been deployed. These include:

• Gas free development.

• Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) fitted throughout. The heat pumps extract heat from the air outside and use it heat your home.

• Solar masterplanning has informed the design to balance solar gain and control overheating

• Photovoltaic (PV) panels installed on all buldings

• EPC’s at A/B with Environmental EPC’s high A’s

• Triple glazed passivehaus certified windows

• Air tightness below 2 ensuring that dwellings don’t require a large amount of heat/energy input

• Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system – Provides fresh filtered air whilst retaining most of the energy which has already been used in heating the building, encouraging healthy living and reducing energy demands

• Part O - Solar shading to be installed to help prevent overheating. Windows will also have an integrated louvre system

• All houses to have EV charging capabilities and communal EV charging points for the apartments and offices

• Circa 300,000 KWH generated annually from PV panels across the entire development

•

BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity and ecological enhancement is a key element for the proposed development. The landscape design provides species rich wildlife habitats from the waterfront through to the hillside. Working with ecologists, arboricultural consultants and landscape architects, the design team have designed a diverse range of habitats to enhance and protect native wildlife which culminates in a Biodiversity Net Gain of over 30% (at least triple the policy requirement).

A dark ‘bat corridor’ has been created along the river and hillside to ensure the existing foraging routes are protected to support the local bat population.

Acorn has pledged to introduce bee friendly plants, peat free compost and wild bird boxes (Swift, Sparrow and Starling) across the site. In addition bee bricks/ boxes and hedgehog friendly gravel boards willl be installed.

A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY

Regeneration of brownfield sites near urban centres is the most sustainable way to provide new homes and businesses. Baltic Wharf is, by location alone, a highly sustainable development as it provides:

• Facilities within walking distance helping to support the local economy

• Easy access to public transport including Bob the Bus reducing reliance on cars

• Carefully designed dwellings and fast broadband infrastructure to promote working from home

• Smart meters fitted to all new dwellings

• Sanitaryware specified to reduce water usage

• Water butts to all houses so water can be reused

• A mixed-use development enabling people to live, work from home, exercise and socialise without the need for a private car

Retaining a viable working boatyard is at the heart of the proposal. The new facilities will support the local economy and ensure an important local asset is secure for the use of future generations.

The existing boatyard however requires significant investment to adhere to current building regulations, environmental standards and address the demands of modern employees. It is not economically viable to refurbish the existing buildings.

Occupying an area of 11,500 sqm the new boatyard will be developed in Phase 1 of the new scheme to ensure its seamless operation during construction. The new boatyard will consist of modern buildings with offices above workshop spaces suitable for a huge variety of marine uses.

4,218 sqm of commercial space offering potential employment opportunities for 300 new jobs

In addition to the boatyard, a further 1,296 sqm of mixed-use commercial space is proposed across the remainder of the site. This will help create a vibrant new destination for Totnes and offer new employment opportunities.

Proposed layout of the new boatyard and associated facilities

Summary & Next Steps

Thank you for taking the time to view this exhibition. Please take a few minutes to complete a feedback form either at the event or you can view the proposals and complete the survey online at www.balticwharftotnes.com

Your comments and suggestions are important and will be carefully considered by the design and planning team as they work up the final detailed proposals ready for submitting a planning application.

We are aiming to finalise the scheme and submit a full planning application to South Hams, Summer 2023. Once the application has been formally registered the Council will carry out further statutory consultation and notify near neighbours about how they can respond.

www.balticwharftotnes.com

Proposed Architecture & Landscape Design

The proposed architecture and landscape has been informed by both local context and the latest construction practises to ensure that it is in keeping with Totnes whilst also meeting or exceeding modern regulations.

The material pallette, building forms and layout have all been devised following extensive analysis and design development to ensure it successfully responds to all the site constraints whilst championing healthy and sustainable living.

Houses in Totnes

Gable fronted townhouses

Public seating

Landscape design to promote walking

Existing riverside buildings

Landscaped raised deck

Sustainable design - Solar PV panels on roofs

Improved relationship with the river

Creating a new community

Houses in Totnes

Quality boundary treatments

Mixed-use wharfside buildings creating jobs

Architecturally, overall, it is considered to be an exciting scheme. The proposed buildings are considered to be appropriate, well mannered and of a high standard of design.

Design Review Panel Response