NTC object to John Lewis Options

[dannyboy]

Anyone else thinking this is because another store it town is none to happy?

[TallDarkAndHands...]

Anyone else thinking this is because another store it town is none to happy?

Perhaps Xmas shopping will be free at that store for certain Town Councillors this year!

[dannyboy]

Perhaps Xmas shopping will be free at that store for certain Town Councillors this year!

WBC will pass it, so what NTC does is merely voice opinion.

I found By filling this space with another store it is going to attract people into the wrong part of town and independent traders will see nobody a rather daft comment, as I would have thought building a ruddy great new development was meant to attract people to that part of town.

[Bloggo]

I just wonder what will happen to the great void left by Debs when they move. There won't be much at that end of town to visit.
It has to be said that sacrificing 65 badly needed parking spaces and a public open area is not a great result but maybe it was neccesary to encourage John Lewis to join up.

[dannyboy]

I just wonder what will happen to the great void left by Debs when they move. There won't be much at that end of town to visit.
It has to be said that sacrificing 65 badly needed parking spaces and a public open area is not a great result but maybe it was neccesary to encourage John Lewis to join up.

allegedly Primark will be taking on the large unit in the KC.

I have always thought that more glass & being able to see into the stores ( for instance to the walk down to the KC car park ) would help the KC no end. As it is it look like the units ( TK MAxx etc ) are boarded up.

[Bartholomew]

WBC will pass it, so what NTC does is merely voice opinion.

I found By filling this space with another store it is going to attract people into the wrong part of town and independent traders will see nobody a rather daft comment, as I would have thought building a ruddy great new development was meant to attract people to that part of town.

That's the point. It will attract people to the same part of town that is currently the busiest. The other side of the river from the new centre is much quieter and has been since part pedestrianisation was implemented.

[dannyboy]

That's the point. It will attract people to the same part of town that is currently the busiest. The other side of the river from the new centre is much quieter and has been since part pedestrianisation was implemented.

Moaning about one more store & saying no to the application is hardly going to change this.

If it had just been on the loss of ammenity space & car parking I could have understood. But to reject additional retail space makes no sense when you have already said yes to a much bigger development.

[Bartholomew]

Moaning about one more store & saying no to the application is hardly going to change this.

If it had just been on the loss of ammenity space & car parking I could have understood. But to reject additional retail space makes no sense when you have already said yes to a much bigger development.

Who's moaning? As far as I can see, the objection is because it will cause the other end of town to have less visitors.

[Bofem]

Phil Barnett sells gasmasks for a living. What would he know.

[dannyboy]

Who's moaning? As far as I can see, the objection is because it will cause the other end of town to have less visitors.

Less? - I don't see it that way. Vistitors who want to shop are going to be attracted to PW & N of the river regardless of JL being in town or not. The impact of JL in PW is a moot point.

[Bartholomew]

Less? - I don't see it that way. Vistitors who want to shop are going to be attracted to PW & N of the river regardless of JL being in town or not. The impact of JL in PW is a moot point.

This is the comment I was referring to.
"By filling this space with another store it is going to attract people into the wrong part of town and independent traders will see nobody"
What I understand by this is that it will make the the town south of the river quieter because of exactly the reasons you have stated.

[dannyboy]

This is the comment I was referring to.
"By filling this space with another store it is going to "
What I understand by this is that it will make the the town south of the river quieter because of exactly the reasons you have stated.

It is going to be quiet anyway, regardless of JL. One more shop is going to make so much difference? Nah, I don't believe the reasons given.

If the NTC is now worried about attracting people into the wrong part of town and independent traders will seeing nobody , surely it is too late in the day for that?

I have a feeling that if it had been another large clothing store there would have been no objection.

[On the edge]

Can't see NTC's views on retail count for anything. They can't even run the Charter Market properly!

[Dodgys smarter b...]

allegedly Primark will be taking on the large unit in the KC.

Handy for the Gillespie's, what with the old man being away an' all....

[Bofem]

Can't we just put John Lewis in Camp Hopson furniture store instead of waiting for the inevitable?

[GMR]

Anyone else thinking this is because another store it town is none to happy?

And what has it got to do with them? They should try consulting the people. Unless they are waiting for some sort of remunerations and then they will let them in?

[blackdog]

I would love to see John Lewis in Newbury (shame they didn't get the £4million sweetener instead of Debenhams), but the proposals from SLI are pretty naff. Plonk a hastily designed monolith in place of a few smaller stores and over the open space they were boasting of during the original planning deliberations. At the same time reduce the size of the car park by 10-15% (next they will be reducing the parking fees share paid to WTC by 10-15%). It's an ugly bodge that deserves to be rejected.

[Exhausted]

Can't see NTC's views on retail count for anything. They can't even run the Charter Market properly!

Well, they don't count for a lot in the planning system which is totally controlled by West Berks Council. The only influence they might have is that when a planning application comes up for a decision, their views will be taken into account but possibly with a little more weight than that of an individual. They, NTC, do also post positive comments to WBC. in certain cases.

If you want to see what the Town Council are objecting to, you can see the full story here
http://planning.westberks.gov.uk/rpp/index...10/02676/FULMAJ

Just in case you can't be bothered, they said as their objection.
and I quote:

Overdevelopment; loss of public amenity space, loss of parking, uninspiring and overpowering street scene, contrary to town design statement.

end of quote.

As you can see, they made only an oblique reference to the shopping situation in Newbury, referring to the town design statement.

As far as the statement by Camp Hopson, of course they have to grin and bare it but other than making a formal objection, their statement should not carry any weight with the planning committee when coming to a decision. Don't get too carried away by the John Lewis thing though, it's not the full monte, it's only their furnishing department that they will bring to Newbury.

[David Allen]

If you want to see what the Town Council are objecting to, you can see the full story here
http://planning.westberks.gov.uk/rpp/index...10/02676/FULMAJ

Just in case you can't be bothered, they said as their objection.
and I quote:

Overdevelopment; loss of public amenity space, loss of parking, uninspiring and overpowering street scene, contrary to town design statement.

end of quote.

As you can see, they made only an oblique reference to the shopping situation in Newbury, referring to the town design statement.

Hi, there's been a mixed reaction to NTC's objection to the John Lewis/Parkway application. I thought you might like to understand our thinking on the subject:

To enable John Lewis to move into the development they need more suitable floor space than currently available. To do this Standard Life have decided to remove, and build over, the public open space (Victoria Place) that was planned for the area near the main Parkway entrance to Victoria Park.

At a stroke we would lose the public amenity that was considered an important focus of the development and lose an area that would be used for informal street markets, open theatre, etc. etc.

I have no objection to John Lewis moving to Newbury. It would be good for the Town and form an important second anchor for the Parkway development. I made that clear at last week's NTC Planning and Highways meeting.

But I did raise a formal objection on: loss of public open space; loss of car parking (lots of figures were quoted, ranging from 65 to 105); the design is frankly less than inspiring and will result in a solid mass of buildings stretching from the new Debenhams on the north side of the development to Camps on the south side. I believe this massing will be to the detriment to Victoria Park which already is overwhelmed and overlooked by the development.

I also believe that the application is contrary to our Town Design Statement which states that Newbury Town Centre is on human scale - ie that the Parkway development should involve open spaces and public areas.

As has been previously noted, NTC is a consultee to the planning process and does not make final decisions on such applications. We've stated our case, and now we wait for WBC's decision.

Regards

[Richard Garvie]

John Lewis won't seriously affect the bigger picture, apart from possibly enhancing the retail offering within PW and attracting people to town. As Danny says, complaing that it will hit traders in other parts of town brings to mind the analogy regarding a horse, a stable door and something bolting.