Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Presentation prepared for Big Bogton Picnic, 24 August 2013. All supporting documents can be found on battleforbogton.wordpress.com
TIMELINE
November 2008 Redco Milnes first public consultations. At this time the development included a supermarket, a petrol station, a garden centre, non-food retail space, a carpark, a hotel, a football ground and a play area. April 2009 Second consultation. The hotel and garden centre were no longer a part of the proposal. It also became clear that the new football ground would be master-planned by Redco Milne but would not be funded or built by them. 10 June 2009 Redco Milne submitted Outline Planning Application 09/01111/OUT for Reconfiguration and Extension to the Town Centre. February 2011 Public Consultation. Forres residents voted overwhelmingly against selling the land to Redco Milne and in favour of renewing the lease with Forres Mechanics instead. 5 July 2011 Moray Councils Policy and Resources Committee refused sale of the land at Bogton Road to Redco Milne in order to facilitate their proposed development. October 2012 Redco Milne submitted Planning Permission in Principle Application 12/01799/PP for a new football stadium. 22 March 2013 Moray Council approved Application 12/01799/PP for a new football stadium. 12 June 2013 Moray Council approved Application 09/01111/OUT for Reconfiguration and Extension to Town Centre
A retail outlet with a supermarket, and three non-food retail units A 6-pump petrol station with forecourt shop A carpark with 380 spaces Landscaping A new roundabout onto the A96 Various road alterations and provision for pedestrian and cycle access The demolition of Forres Mechanics stadium, former Tesco Superstore, several buildings on Bogton Rd and Caroline St and Lea Rd
Ownership of the land The site is 5.6 acres in size. The areas already owned by Redco Milne are: the former Tesco site at Gordon St and an area of land between this site and the Forres Mechanics Stadium. The stadium and green space are Forres Common Good Land. Environmental Issues The green space affected by the development falls within the Moray Local Plan 2008 Forres designations OPP1 Caroline Street, ENV1 Public Parks and Gardens and partially within the defined town centre. The site bounds a small portion of the Conservation Area at Gordon Street close to the Lea Bridge, and it lies within an area previously affected by flooding. Conditions The Permission for Development decision notice includes: 9. Any further application must be accompanied by a detailed bat survey. 10. The Forres Mechanics stadium cannot be removed until the new stadium is operational. 18. No trees, shrubs or hedgerows on the site shall be removed without written consent. 19g. Bogton Rd is to be widened to a minimum of 7.3m for HGV service delivery vehicles. 13. No development that could impact on floodplain storage or conveyance of the River Findhorn shall commence until the Findhorn Flood Prevention Scheme is finished. 22. The new access roundabout on the A96 must be completed before work begins. 27. No part of the development shall be occupied until a comprehensive Travel Plan that sets out proposals for reducing dependency on the private car has been approved
upgrade and it has deteriorated over the last five years due to lack of maintenance. Other sites in Forres have had play equipment replaced but not Bogton. Moray Local Plan 2008: Policy E4 Green Spaces Bogton Common Good Land is designated ENV1 in the Moray Local Plan 2008. It is covered by policy E4 Green Spaces which states: The aim of the policy is to protect green spaces identified in the settlement statements and rural community statements. Green spaces in the built environment provide opportunities for social contact and recreation and provide biodiversity and landscape benefits. Development on ENV1 sites should be refused unless: a. The proposal is for a public use that clearly outweighs the value of the green space. b. The development is sited and designed to minimise adverse impacts on the recreational, amenity and biodiversity value of the site. Planning Policy The Scottish Planning Policy document states: 149. Access to good quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and recreation make important contributions to a healthier Scotland. The planning system has a role in helping to create an environment where physical wellbeing is improved and activity made easier. 153. There is a presumption against development of these open spaces.
ECONOMIC BENEFITS?
How many jobs? Redco Milne say they will bring 500 jobs to Forres (not including construction workers). The figure is not based on any available research and even the Moray Councillors had to take it at face value. The Retail Assessment makes no mention of jobs. Full-time or Part time Redco Milne spokesperson, Stewart Oak, at the planning meeting on 11 June, said that the 500 includes part-time, and would be 350 full-time-equivalent jobs Retained versus new jobs There is speculation that the new jobs will be transfers from Nairn Rd Tesco. If this is the case there will be no increase to the total employment in Forres. 25 million investment No breakdown of that figure has been made public. However its likely that most of it will be paid back to the main construction company, namely Stewart Milne Group. As such it will probably have negligible impact on the Forres economy. Economic viability The retail park has a supermarket and three shops. Its questionable whether out-of-town shoppers will come and seems likely that Forres residents will still travel to Inverness and Elgin for comparison shopping. The Retail Assessment states that shoppers will come from Nairn, Elgin, Lossiemouth and Grantown-on-Spey for the supermarket, and that they will come from Nairn and Grantown (but not Elgin or Lossiemouth) for the non-food retail units. This isnt backed by any relevant survey of shoppers, nor any discussion of alternative possibilities. According to the report these areas have been defined by Muir Smith Evans on the basis of experience and judgement, and in discussion with the consultant appointed by Moray Council. Negligible developer contribution Due to policy changes, the only Developer Contribution attached to the development is some improvement to core paths and transportation infrastructure. On 12 June, Councillor Gordon McDonald said: I am astonished for a development of this scale that this council is not managing to get a penny virtually out of them. For comparison, the Buckie Tesco Developer Contributions totalled 406,000, and that store is less than half the size of the proposed Redco Milne supermarket