Wide consultation aimed at finding out what people want for brewery site

The specialist city centre regeneration developer Centros is to lead an extensive consultation exercise aimed at finding out what local people’s preferences are for the development of the former brewery site in Lancaster city centre. This follows Lancaster City Council’s recent confirmation of Centros as its preferred developer for the Canal Corridor North site.

Centros’s associate director, David Lewis, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as the council’s preferred developer and having concluded a development agreement with Mitchell’s Brewery, we are now progressing the legal documentation with the council. At this stage we have no preconceptions about how the site might be developed and our consultation will start with the questions ‘what does Lancaster need?’ and ‘what would you like to see developed on the site?’.

“In recent weeks, many people have been expressing their fears about what might happen – particularly about the Musicians’ Co-op on the site. However, these are completely unfounded as we are only just at the start of the development process. Certainly, the Musician’s Co-op can rest assured that we will be meeting with them very soon. We believe that the Co-op is a valuable facility to have in the city centre and our aim is to ensure that it is kept.”

The consultation will begin with a street survey of shoppers and visitors to the city centre during the weeks before Christmas. People will be asked by interviewers for their views about what the city needs in terms of additional shopping, leisure, residential and other facilities. A project website will also be set up to enable people to send in their views to the development team throughout the project.

Around the same time in early December, Centros will begin a series of workshops with local interest groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Society, plus key stakeholders such as the Musician’s Co-op and the two theatres on the site.

Centros will also be working closely throughout with Lancaster City Council and will use all the feedback gained through the consultation process to help to prepare a masterplan. This will be revealed early next year and then further consultation will follow, during which Government architectural and heritage watchdogs CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) and English Heritage will be involved.

Coun Alex Stone, of Lancaster City Council, (Cabinet member with responsibility for property), said: “We are delighted to be working with Centros who have a track record of sensitive city and town centre development. I believe that by working together we will be able to enhance our town centre, whilst protecting the aspects which are most important for our community, ultimately providing Lancaster with a sustainable solution for the canal corridor site which builds on Lancaster’s many strengths.”

Centros, a joint venture between property companies The Miller Group and Delancey, specialises in working in partnership with local authorities and other land owners to deliver the regeneration of sites in town and city centres throughout the UK. It has recently won awards for Weavers Wharf in Kidderminster and Pescod Square in Boston. It completed the £100 million development of Fremlin Walk in Maidstone earlier this year, and the company will start construction of the £85 million development of the Cattle Market in Bury St Edmunds towards the end of next year. Public consultation plays a strong role in all of the company’s work and is used to shape and refine development proposals with the aim of producing the best possible result for each location. Following two years of consultation, Centros won planning consent last week for a £300 million regeneration of the former Tricorn site in Portsmouth city centre.

22nd November 2005