Seaton Regeneration Area Plan :: The Outline Planning Proposal
What are the proposals and how will Seaton benefit?
Introduction
The planning application that has been made by Liatris Holdings covers the majority of the Seaton Regeneration Area, which East Devon District Council has allocated for development in its new Local Plan. Following extensive public consultation the Local Plan encouraged a comprehensive development of the site for mixed-use purposes including large-scale residential content, retail, open space and main access routes. After further public consultation a Development Brief was created to investigate the ways in which the Local Plan could be implemented.
The planning application submitted by Liatris Holdings is in accordance with the Local Plan policy and fulfils the objectives the District Council outlined for the site in the Development Brief, which was adopted in 2005. This Development Brief accepts that the existing Holiday Village on site will close and its subsequent development will be part of the mixed-use proposals. The application does not dictate precisely where land uses on the site are to go, it simply indicates how to achieve the mix of development.
The Liatris application provides the following proposals for development: -
- Up to 386 houses in a mix of sizes across the site.
- The accompanying indicative Masterplan identifies the potential for up to 500 houses across the whole regeneration area.
- Areas of new public open space.
- Retention of existing open space and children’s play area off The Underfleet.
- New shopping facilities in the form of a new supermarket and related non-food retail units.
- Facilitation and contributions towards the capital cost of the Seaton Wetland Nature Reserve.
- Provision of a new square and community area off The Underfleet near the corner of Harbour Road.
- New buildings around the square, forming a focal point to Seaton. These comprise:
- A new Jurassic Coast Visitors’ Centre
- A SUSTRANS/Wessex Way cycle terminus
- Additional community facility to be included either within the visitor centre or a separate building
- Whilst not included in the application itself, but provided for on the indicative Masterplan, there are also the following proposals:-
- A hotel and commercial/leisure area on the Axe River frontage.
- The relocation (through financial contribution) of existing employers, particularly the Council-owned riverside workshops.
The Masterplan for which approval is sought is a ‘zoning’ plan, which shows the areas of the site and the uses proposed for the different areas. There is a more detailed indicative Masterplan (see opposite) which shows how (if the zoning plan is approved) actual buildings on the site could be located. However, it is important to note that the details of buildings will only be proposed once the principle of the zoned land usage is approved.
The Council’s policy for the site is for it to be developed to facilitate the regeneration of Seaton. Regeneration can be achieved in different ways including job creation, the development of brownfield land, economic growth, increased tourism and enhanced social and amenity benefits. All these positive outcomes will arise from the development of the Seaton site as explained in the next sections of this report.
