Morrisons pulls the plug

Supermarket chain Morrisons has withdrawn plans for a store in Herne Bay town centre. The supermarket's move from its current Beach Street site to the town had been seen as key to Canterbury City Council plans for redevelopment.

Denne Construction was confirmed as developer for the £35 million scheme, including the new supermarket in 2009. But Morrisons has been unable to commit the cash for the new town centre building and will now stay at its current site.

The city council and development partners Coplan Estates and Denne Construction are looking at alternative proposals. CCC executive member for Herne Bay Regeneration, Cllr Peter Lee, said:

"Naturally, we regret that Morrisons has decided not to invest in a new building, but we remain very confident in the future of Herne Bay. Coplan Estates and Denne Construction share our passion for realising the town's potential, and we will all continue to work together closely.

We are continuing to deliver regeneration and we are working with local businesses and community groups to ensure the continued economic and social regeneration of Herne Bay."

Positive feedback over development

HB Gazette 7th Oct 2010

Central Development Area

£35m plan for shops, hotel and homes go step closer

HB Gazette 30th Sep 2010

Town Development - consultation

Roll up, roll up! This is probably your last chance to influence the Master Plan, so have a look and then have your say. Not only can you have a close look at the William Street development plans, if you choose the day carefully, there will be someone to explain it all.

Herne Bay Central Development Area, Draft Master Plan Consultation

The council is committed to regenerating the Herne Bay Central Development Area as the main way of driving a stronger economy for Herne Bay as a whole. The Central Development Area encompasses the King's Road and William Street car parks, extending north to the High Street. It also includes parts of Beach Street and Hanover Street, as well as William Street and Queen Street. The result will be a thriving mixed use development.

The council has been working with our partners Coplan and Denne to draw together all of the previous consultation comments to produce a Draft Master Plan. We now wish to consult on this to ensure that we have accurately captured the views of local residents and businesses. When we have considered all of the comments we will look to finalise the Master Plan and hopefully consider a planning application for the central development area in early 2011.

You can view the draft Master Plan at Christ Church, William Street, Herne Bay at an exhibition lasting each day from 10am to 4pm, from Monday August 16th until Sunday September 26th 2010 (except Wednesday mornings and Sundays). You can also view the Draft Master Plan at Herne Bay Divisional Office, Herne Bay Library; and the main city council offices. A summary of the Draft Master Plan, which you can take away with you, is also available at all of these locations. We have produced a questionnaire but do feel free to write in or email your comments to janet.davies@canterbury.gov.uk if you prefer.

The council and Coplan will be holding two sets of Question and Answer days at Christ Church, William Street. These will be from 10am to 4pm on Monday 16th August, Tuesday 17th August, Wednesday 18th August; and Wednesday 1st September, Thursday 2nd September and Friday 3rd of September. We will also be available from 10am until 8pm on Wednesday 1st September and from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 11th September. I hope you will find time to drop in and view the exhibition or indeed to come along on one of the Question and Answer days. If not do please have a look at this website where you will be able to gain all of the information: www.canterbury.gov.uk/hernebayprojects

Comments can also be left at the Corporate Trailer which will be based by the Clock Tower, Herne Bay on Saturday 21st, Sunday 22nd, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August. The Trailer will have be staffed and have copies of the Draft Master Plan available for reference. I look forward to receiving your comments on the proposals for the Central Development Area at: janet.davies@canterbury.gov.uk

Mixed reception for development plans

Ambitious plans for a £35 million regeneration of Herne Bay town centre have been met with mixed reactions. Scores of people packed into the Salvation Army Hall on Tuesday as Bay councillors gave their views.

The scheme, led by developers Denne Construction and regeneration experts Coplan Estates, includes a supermarket, shopping centre, homes, multi-storey car park, hotel and a medical centre. It could be complete as early as 2014. Concerns have been raised that the development will draw people away from shops in Mortimer Street, but that suggestion was shot down by finance guru Cllr Peter Lee. He said:

"There's no point in establishing a new shopping centre and killing off the old one. The objective is to make one complement the other. Currently, only 31 per cent of the money that comes into the town is actually spent here. Why should people come from outside Herne Bay when we can't even get the people who live here to shop in the town? It's taken a long time but we are determined to get it right for the future of Herne Bay"

Fellow councillor Robert Bright, owner of Lisa B's furniture store in William Street, said:

"As somebody who does own a small shop in the town, I think a new retail centre with several well known shops will bring people into the town. That means more people in Mortimer Street, more people in William Street and more people in my shop."

Lib Dem Ron Flaherty praised the proposal, but said:

"On the plans it says medical centre. But that's only a couple of words on a map at the moment. The city council has got to take the initiative because doctors will sit back until the heavens open. We need to get them all together and look at what's possible. We could do what Whitstable did at Estuary View under the guidance of Dr Ribchester."

Not everyone was behind plans to redevelop the proposed site. Student tour operator Diane Nutter claims losing the coach parking in William Street could cost the town dearly. She told the meeting her company brings 6,250 students to the town every year, arriving weekly from February to November. The coaches park in William Street car park five days a week and the drivers stay in rented accommodation or B&Bs on the seafront. She said:

"I'm all for the principle of the development, but having to park the coaches well outside the town is simply not viable. In all we bought well over £600,000 to the town last year and that doesn't include the money spent in Whitstable and Canterbury. I feel the loss of important long-stay parking facilities in Herne Bay will have a devastating effect on the town."

Bay councillor Roger Matthews also rubbished the proposed development:

"This started off as a redevelopment of the town centre, but now it's moved. We've already got a shopping centre in Mortimer Street that nobody can get at. That's what we should be concentrating on. There are other sites in Herne Bay, but they're not council owned and would have to be purchased. That's the problem."

County councillor Jean Law hit back at Cllr Matthews, saying:

"This is a fantastic proposal. Does Cllr Matthews really believe we've lost sight of William Street and Mortimer Street? Why does he think we've spent the last 18 months working with Chris West and Herne Bay Town Partners to make it look better to improve it? There's room for both."

HB Gazette 29th July 2010

Gale's View: Town Centre

It has been a long and frustrating time in coming but at last serious proposals for the re-development of the centre of Herne Bay are out in the open.  We need a good mix of high-quality retail, leisure facilities and residential accommodation in the heart of the community to keep the town alive night and day; and I believe that these plans warrant and deserve the backing of the town.

We either see the continuation of the drift towards out-of-town shopping that has blighted other town centre retail outlets or we give support to an imaginative and creative plan that will breathe life into a seaside town that, if we are honest, has for historical reasons never really enjoyed the benefits of a "town centre". The creation of such a focal point will not only prove to be a magnet in itself but will help to revitalise business for those outlets that are, particularly at present, having a difficult time in the High Street and in Mortimer Street.

The proposed developer, Denne Construction, have a good track record (they are, by the way, one of the Kent companies that have blazed a trail in the creation of construction trade apprenticeships) and if Canterbury City Council gives this project the go-ahead then I think that we shall live to witness the realisation of a dream (see 1980s editions of the Gazette!) that some of us have adhered to for a long time.

The present Council's ambitions for the town have, following wide public consultation, been impeded by a government moving of goal posts and consequent delays in the approval and implementation of a cohesive local plan. We are, I think, now getting back on track and if we can dovetail the development of the Market and William Street Car Park sites with the regeneration of the pier and other improvements planned for the waterfront then in relatively short order, and notwithstanding a dire national economic situation, The Bay is going to be a very exciting place to be.

Roger Gale M.P. (November 25th 2009)