Seaton Regeneration Area Plan :: Planning Support Statement
Introduction and Background
1.1 This planning statement sets out the case in support of the planning application that has been submitted to East Devon District Council by Liatris Holdings for the redevelopment of a substantial part of the site allocated by the Council for development and known as the Seaton Regeneration Site. The statement sets out the nature and content of the application; describes the proposed development and also describes, in Section 3, the extent of community involvement that has taken place in the process. Section 4 of the statement sets out the planning case in support of the application being granted, which relates to planning policy considerations; the content of the Council’s Planning Brief for the site and how key aspects of the development bring about the regeneration of the site in accordance with policy objectives.
1.2 The background to the site is well known to the local authority and residents of the Seaton area. The site has, for a considerable period, been regarded as a redevelopment opportunity to bring about regeneration of Seaton in a number of ways. The basis for the regeneration has been a mix of housing and commercial development and there has been much work carried out by the Council and its consultants on the form which the development of the site should take. This has involved considerations such as the provision of appropriate pedestrian access; the disposition of land uses across the site; the maintenance and enhancement of key open spaces; the provision of car parking and the delivery of an appropriate regeneration package on the land ownerships that are contained within the site area.
1.3 The Council has in the past commissioned consultants to assess the appropriate form and layout of development across the regeneration site and these considerations culminated in the approval in March 2005 of a Development Brief. This set out a number of objectives, which are assessed below.
1.4 The preparation of the Planning Brief for the site was also undertaken in the context of the preparation of the East Devon Districtwide Local Plan. This identified the Seaton Regeneration Site for comprehensive redevelopment through Policy LSE2 (see below), indicating the Council’s support for the principle of major development across the site. The area of the regeneration site identified in Policy LSE2 is that outlined on Plan T.0129_17-13 overleaf. The application submitted by Liatris Holdings is, for reasons explained below, not for the entirety of the regeneration area but seeks to deliver development on a substantial proportion of it which, as confirmed below, achieves many of the objectives of the Council for the site within the foreseeable future. Land currently outside the application area can come forward for development in the future and the Liatris Holdings’ application does not prevent the regeneration of the balance of the site currently not included.
1.5 This support statement needs to be read alongside a number of key documents that have been submitted with the application and reflects the amount of preparation which Liatris Holdings and its professional team have undertaken to arrive at the proposals now before the Council. This has included a significant public consultation exercise which has taken place in addition to public consultation that had been carried out by the Council and its consultants in relation to the earlier master plan proposals, the Planning Brief and the Local Plan process. This is outlined in more detail in Section 3 of the statement.
1.6 The objective of the application is to enable the longstanding aim of the regeneration of the site to be delivered and for Seaton’s economy to be enhanced. In this respect, Liatris Holdings has obtained the commitment of a national house builder to a key element of the scheme. The master plan that is submitted as part of the application therefore has the backing of commercial interests who have indicated they want to invest in Seaton in the way outlined on the master plan. Liatris Holdings would want to emphasise to the Council that the key elements of the scheme within the application are not speculative proposals and, upon the grant of outline planning permission, there will be a speedy resolution of reserved matters submissions to the point where construction can start on the site and the regeneration benefits sought by the Council can be brought to fruition.
1.7 The Council’s Planning Brief includes within it Fig 3 showing the land ownership of the regeneration site as a whole. Broadly speaking, the Council owns land adjacent to the Underfleet in the western part of the regeneration site (Area 1 on Fig 3) and there are a number of smaller ownerships (including the Council) in the eastern and south eastern part of the site mainly dealing with commercial concerns, the Axe Riverside Trust and the boatyard in the extreme south eastern corner. Liatris Holdings controls the large area within the central part of the site currently occupied by the Lyme Bay Holiday Village and adjacent land (Area 2 on Fig 3). The company is also hopeful of obtaining the co-operation of the Council to the application as land owner of the car park and tourism facilities in the western part of the site. The company therefore controls a significant proportion of the regeneration site and the application area that it has selected reflects that control its and the Council’s ownership upon which can be delivered a significant proportion of the development intended for the regeneration site as a whole.
