Welcome to the Silver Hill Public Exhibition
Winchester Silver Hill
The purpose of this exhibition... Welcome to this public exhibition which outlines the exciting proposals for Winchester’s Silver Hill. You will be aware that last year the Secretary of State confirmed that the Council could proceed with a Compulsory Purchase Order to help deliver regeneration plans for the Silver Hill site, a key quarter of Winchester city centre. Notwithstanding that, detailed planning consent for the development was granted in 2009 and Henderson Global Investors, which acquired the project in 2010, felt it appropriate to carry out a review of the current scheme to ensure it was of the highest quality and reflected current market conditions. Allies and Morrison, the scheme’s architect, was briefed to ensure that the scheme met today’s occupier requirements, whilst also responding to stakeholder comments. This review identified various opportunities to make alterations, refinements and improvements to the current scheme. Following initial engagement with our development partner - Winchester City Council – and other local stakeholders we are proud to share our proposed improvements with you here.
About Henderson Global Investors
Martin Perry SP
“We continue to be encouraged by the strong support that we have received from stakeholders and remain committed to taking this scheme forward.”
Henderson is a leading property asset manager with c. £12.7 billion (as at 30 September 2013) of property funds under management across Europe, Asia and the US. We have a strong track record in developing schemes such as this. Our development team manages significant cross-sector development exposure, which ranges from direct development to joint ventures and development funding. Henderson is commited to delivering the project as soon as possible.
Winchester Silver Hill
Remember Silver Hill... The need for regeneration The Silver Hill site is currently a scar on the city which we propose to heal and improve, through this regeneration. Our plans would remove the unsightly existing buildings and create new homes, shops, cafes and restaurants together with public spaces for Winchester’s residents and visitors. Plans to transform this site were granted detailed planning consent in 2009 but since then, there have been some significant changes in market conditions in both the residential and retail sectors.
Plan of the consented scheme 2009
Project history Henderson Global Investors (Henderson) acquired the project from the Thornfield in 2010 and since then has worked with development partner, Winchester City Council, to review the consented scheme and ensure the development that is delivered is the best scheme for Winchester.
Middle Brook Street
View of consented scheme
Friarsgrate
View of consented scheme
Silver Hill
View of consented scheme
In line with changing market conditions, demand for certain elements of the consented plans has also changed. Most significantly, Stagecoach now no longer requires a large bus station on site; creating a new opportunity to improve the layout of the plans and, in doing so, to create a less dense scheme on the six-acre site.
...the consented scheme
We are going to build it... Updated plans As a result of these changing requirements, Henderson is progressing with the consented proposals but will make a number of minor changes to the proposals. These will benefit the scheme and make it more relevant to the needs of Winchester. The design we are showcasing today reflects not only the views of our designers but also comments, views and observations expressed by stakeholders. • The alterations to the plans will see the proposed Stagecoach bus station on Friarsgate replaced with an on-street solution. The transformation of Friarsgate to a tree-lined boulevard with a series of bus stops alongside the scheme will create a much-improved entrance into the city for those arriving by car, while ensuring the scheme remains as accessible as possible by bus and on foot.
Current proposals (in red) overlaid on consented scheme
• The area which would have contained the bus station will now see additional retail space, providing further jobs and better consumer choice in Winchester. Silver Hill will become a natural extension to the city centre, strengthening it by complementing the shops and services already provided while attracting new visitors. • Similarly, reconfiguring the bus centre’s needs for the twenty first century with a linear bus centre has allowed award-winning architects Allies and Morrison to improve the scheme’s street layout, reintroducing historic routes through the area by repairing the traditional medieval street pattern. Unsightly existing buildings will be replaced with a wide variety of high-quality architecture inspired by Winchester’s local vernacular and designed to reflect the city’s rich heritage. The currently culverted brook will be opened up by Cross Keys Square, creating a pleasant space for visitors and residents to enjoy.
Variety of building materials The palette of facing materials, such as brick, flint, stucco and slate is found elsewhere in Winchester and will relate to the existing fabric of the city.
• Henderson has reduced the overall number of residential units from 307 to 180 properties but increased the number of larger 2 and 3-bedroom properties to attract a greater number of owner-occupiers and longerterm residents, reflecting local residential demand in Winchester.
Variety of landscaping materials Landscaping design will be critical to integrating Silver Hill with the rest of the city centre and in creating high quality public spaces. Consistent materials will be used throughout, with sufficient variety to instill a “sense of place”. The focus everywhere will be on providing high quality practical materials, which complement and enhance the existing landscaping in the city centre.
• To complement the larger residential properties, Henderson is proposing to increase the ratio of car parking spaces to 1:1 from 1:3 (meaning each property has its own space, rather than sharing each space with two other properties) with a smaller number of visitor spaces for the retail element. Architectural variety
Typologies generate architectural variety
mi ddle brook st reet
Silver Hill looking north
ta n n e r str e e t
l aw n str e e t
...with some improvements Access and Movement Pedestrians and the public realm
Bus Centre
Silver Hill, the new Lawn Street, Cross Keys Square and Silver Hill Square will all be pedestrian streets. There will be improved connections between Silver Hill and the High Street via Cross Keys Passage and Lawn Street. The pedestrian environment in the Broadway, Middle Brook Street and parts of St George’s Street will be enhanced. There will be a total of 14 bus bays in Friarsgate and the Broadway for town and country buses, all located in highly visible convenient locations close to the scheme. All bus stops will have high quality shelters, seating and real time information. A new Bus Centre fronting Friarsgate will provide a ticket office and information point for bus passengers in an improved location from the current facility.
pedestrian zone at all times restricted vehicle access zone bus stops coaches taxi stand (waiting only) taxi rank (pick-up) resident’s car parking resident’s and public car parking blue badge holders’ car parking loading bay
Transport plan
Friarsgate A key aim of the proposal is to integrate Friarsgate into the city centre through the use of landscaping and traffic calming measures. New bus stops on Friarsgate will cater for services heading towards the southwest, west and northwest of the town, including the Park & Ride service. Friarsgate will remain one way westbound with two traffic lanes throughout its length. There are opportunities for design measures to support reduced traffic speeds and improve the environment along Friarsgate. The design integrates new public toilets into the Bus Centre.
View of Bus Centre facility, and access to public toilets
View taken along Friarsgate
Plan of Bus Centre facility, and public toilets
Broadway Bus stops in the Broadway will provide for services heading towards the east and southeast of the town. Buses will enter and leave the Broadway via the roundabout near the King Alfred statue. Tourist coaches will be able to use dedicated stops for short periods to set down and pick up passengers. A taxi rank will be located close to the Guildhall and the taxi stand in the centre of the Broadway will be retained. Parking for blue badge holders will also be provided in the area near the Guildhall. Vehicle access into the High Street, for example for deliveries to High Street properties, will remain available outside restricted hours (10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday).
Proposed new buildings in the Broadway and the High Street
View taken along Broadway
All other users of the Broadway such as National Express, tourist coaches, taxis and blue badge parking will continue to be accommodated. Parking There will be approximately 280 public car parking spaces located in Building A, which will be accessed from Tanner Street. These will include spaces for blue badge holders. The public car park will occupy two floors and be designed to the highest standards in terms of safety, security and user experience. A total of approximately 180 private residential car parking spaces will be provided across the scheme in Buildings A, C, D and J to ensure each home has the opportunity of having a car space. Cycle parking for residents will be provided in secure and covered locations within the buildings. Public cycle parking will be provided at a number of locations in the public realm areas.
c r o ss k e y s squa re
Silver Hill looking south
m i ddl e brook str e e t
Even better than before
te a g s r a fri
tan n er
D
bro o k
st r eet
st r eet
J
A
middle
Cross Keys Square
hi ll
F
D
Silver Hill Square
G
H
E
hi g h
C
et re st
st r eet
si lv e r
Middle Brook Square
te ga st ea
l aw n
B
Tanner Square
st r e e t
the
Broadway
Guildhall Proposed plan
View along Silver Hill
fria r s gat e
Middle Brook Street elevation
View along Middlebrook Street from High Street
View along Silver Hill
Silver H ill
H i gh Str e e t
Scheme content Public parking spaces Bus Centre Retail area
13,700 m2 NIA (circa 14 shops and 2/4 large units)
Residential area 3 bedroom 2 bedroom 1 bedroom Studio Private parking spaces
14,900 m2 NIA 75 units 44 units 55 units 6 units 180
278
View along Lawn Street: a new view of the Guildhall
View along Middle Brook Street
View along Silver Hill (Brooks Shopping Centre on left)
View along Tanner Street from Friarsgate
High Street buildings
Cross Keys Square
mi ddle brook st r e e t
High Street elevation
Roof garden
C r o ss Keys
L aw n Str e e t
View along Friarsgate
View along Middlebrook Street from Friarsgate
Silver Hill Square
Cross Keys Square
L aw n Street
Friarsgate elevation
Ta nn e r Stre e t
m i ddl e brook str e e t
Respect the future. Respect the past. Archaeology
Sustainable Design
The development site is located within the historic walled town and it is likely that beneath the current buildings there will be the remains of occupation back as far as the Roman period and possibly even earlier. We understand the importance of these remains and have designed the development to minimise any impacts on them, such as excluding basements from the scheme.
From design to construction, Silver Hill will benefit from many positive, green concepts and principles. Non-residential elements will follow the principles set out in BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) whilst residential elements will follow the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes. They are best practice and standard in sustainable building design and construction that aim to reduce carbon emissions and promote higher standards of sustainable design than required by Building Regulations.
A programme of archaeological examination will be undertaken, commencing very soon with preliminary investigations that will help us to establish an accurate picture of the archaeological deposits across the development site. Further archaeological investigations will be aimed at areas likely to be impacted by the construction and which may contain important remains. One area of archaeological interest within the development site is the location of the largest medieval municipal fulling mill in England, thought to be concealed beneath the bus garage. We are hoping to involve the wider community of Winchester in various ways within the archaeological works. Our project archaeologist is Mick Rawlings of RPS Group plc - one of the UK’s leading providers of archaeological advice on major development schemes. Recent exciting discoveries in which RPS has played a leading role include Britain’s only Roman circus (horse-racing arena) at Colchester and also a large pit containing more than 50 decapitated Viking warriors on the Weymouth Relief Road in Dorset.
Sustainable design elements include: • • • • • • • • • • •
Effective daylighting Better insulation (by 25%) Solar control glass Efficient LED lighting Heat recovery ventilation Low energy fans Centralized energy systems Renewables (under assessment) Water efficient taps & fixtures Responsibly sourced materials Recycling construction waste
View 7a
View 7b
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Daylight analysis study
Examples of late saxon and medieval finds from the Brooks site (1987-8)
Flooding and Climate Change Overland flooding from the River Itchen from the north of the site and flooding from the on-site streams and culverts poses a risk to both the proposed buildings and the users of the development. Extensive work is currently being undertaken to ensure that the impacts of flooding to the proposed development and the impacts of the development on future flood risk will be mitigated. All flood risk work is being undertaken in full consultation with the Environment Agency. Development threshold levels are being set at a level that will provide a greater level of protection to the development when compared to the existing site. This is in line with current industry standards and fully considers and mitigates the impacts of climate change on flood risk. To accommodate the building layouts for the proposed masterplan, some of the existing culverts on site will need to be diverted. By reconstructing the culverts, significant improvements to the watercourses will be provided. Finally, a length of the western branch of Abbey Mill Stream which is currently culverted will be relocated and opened to day light and new access routes provided. This will provide flood risk, amenity and biodiversity benefits within the proposed development.
Assessing the Development Sustainability Statement A Sustainability Statement is being prepared to support the planning application. The Sustainability Statement will include a review of the proposed design against Winchester City Council’s local planning policies and will provide details on how the proposed development responds to the applicable sustainability focused local planning policy requirements. Environmental Assessment An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is being produced to assess the likely significant environmental effects of the proposed development. The EIA is being undertaken in accordance with UK guidance and the new environmental assessment will identify: • The current environmental baseline in and around the site. • The potential environmental impacts associated with the development (both positive and negative) • How significant these potential environmental impacts are. • How any potential negative environmental impacts can be mitigated
The EIA will cover the following topics: • • • • • • • • • • •
Air Quality Archaeology Daylight and sunlight Ecology Ground Conditions and Contamination Noise and Vibration Socio-Economics Transport Waste Water Resources
What happens next? Thank you for attending our public exhibition on the planned improvements to the Silver Hill scheme. The design team are here to answer any questions you may have. Please let us know your comments on the alterations by completing the comment card. List of consultants: Over the coming three months the design team led by Allies and Morrison will be refining the designs presented at this exhibition with a view to securing planning consent for the scheme alterations later in the summer. The application for planning consent will comprise three independent parts in recognition the nature of the revisions to the ‘projects current planning consent‘.
Allies and Morrison: architecture and landscape Arup: structure, services, transport, sustainability, geotechnics, environment, fire and infrastructure DP9: town planning Gleeds: quantity surveyor RPS: archaeology
The Three High Street Properties
Savills: residential advisers
This will form the subject of a standalone new planning application for consent to build these three brand new buildings
MMX Retail: retail advisers Allies and Morrison architectural team:
Physical Alterations to the existing scheme design
Partner:
This will be linked to the existing planning consent and comprise a planning application to amend this consent to permit the physical alterations now proposed.
Associate: William Lowe
Tailoring the uses
Building C: Frances Taylor
Like the High Street planning application this will form a separate application for consent to tailor the uses to match the scheme and user demands.
Building E: Jennifer Kwok
Paul Appleton
Building A: Nick Weston Building B: Marco Colaiacomo Building D: Toby Buckmaster Building F: Darren Leach Building G: Matt Drury
Target Programme To minimise disruption to stakeholders and to ensure continuity of operation for some site uses, the project will be carefully implemented in two overall phases, set out below are the target dates we are currently working to. Activity
Starts
End
Enabling works and Demolition in phases
Autumn 2014
Spring 2015
Phase 1 Construction Main Blocks A ,B D and J together with appropriate off site works start
Summer 2015
Spring 2017
Spring 2017
Early Spring 2018
Phase 2 Construction Remaining blocks together completion of off site works
Building H: Matt Drury, Peter Clarson Building J: Frances Taylor, Kieran Ashton
Phase 1
Ground Retail
Roof Gardens
Phase 2
Ground Residential
Roof Residential
Winchester Silver Hill