‘Lots of free parking and a big shed’
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strategy for Jubilee Square and new investment for the town centre so Maidstone will main- tain its position as a very good retail centre. The economic benefits outweigh the negatives put forward by officers.” Cllr FranWilson, a committee member and leader of the Lib- Dem group, said: “If we put out a strongmessage thatwe are en- couraging out-of-town retail, the businesses in the town cen- tre may think long and hard about investing in their own properties and people thinking of coming here are more likely to wait for out-of-town sites to come up before they move.” Cllr Tony Harwood, another committee member and Lib Dem councillor, said: “Lots of free parking and a big shed is whatwe have here. It would do nothing to the setting of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it would do nothing for Maidstone. “This will impact negatively
on the town centre. The collat- eral damage will impact on the whole town in terms of small businesses and other social ele- ments, which will all begin to implode.We have held the line against fighting out-of-town de- velopments. This is a battle we must win.” However, the might of the Conservatives meant his protests were in vain. After a discussion about Section 106 money, it was agreed to accept Next’s offer of £50,000 to be spent either in the town centre or the vicinity of the develop- ment to mitigate its negative ef- fects.
How the whole
plan adds up THE Next store will measure 5,748sqm and have 152 parking spaces for cus- tomers. The sale of fashion goods
will take up 45% of total re- tail floorspace, with 55% de- voted to homeware and a cafe.
The company says it will provide 139 permanent jobs (19 full-time and 120 part- time). However, the Next store in The Mall is due to close next year, meaning 52 of these jobs would be trans- ferred, so the overall net gain in jobs would be 97. These would range from management roles to appren- ticeships, and would be available to local residents through Job Centre plus.
Concerns for town centre as out-of-town store is agreed Business park dream ‘broken’
ECLIPSE Park’s status as Maid- stone’s premier high-tech busi- ness park will lie in tatters once the new Next is established, ac- cording to objectors. Maidstone Council decided to
grant planning permission for the £9m home and fashion out- let, despite warnings that the borough could lose its most prestigious business park. The proposal flies in the face
of claims by landowner Gal- lagher, as reported in Downs Mail last year, that the J7 site had been earmarked for “high quality office development”. Gallagher’s chief executive
Nick Yandle claimed the com- pany had rebutted numerous approaches as being unsuitable, and said the companywas keen to retain Eclipse Park’s status as a location for upmarket offices, in line with current tenants Towergate, DHA planning, ASB law, Orbit Housing Association, Software of Excellence, DSH (accountants) and the Hilton Hotel. But Mr Wilson, who repre- sented 22 householders at Shaw Close, which abuts the park, said: “It would be impossible for the council to reject any fu- ture retail development in this area and the chance to have high-tech business use inMaid-
stone will be lost forever. “We will instead be left with
a hotch-potch of office develop- ments mixed with supermarkets and associated petrol stations and fast food outlets. With this we would get an increase in traffic from customers as well as HGV vehicles.” Town centre manager Bill
Moss said his team were “to- tally hostile” to the develop- ment. He said approval could signal the green light for other out-of-town stores, prompting an exodus of retailers from the town centre. Mr Moss asked: “If Next at
Home is given permission,what is to stop an M&S, Primark or House of Fraser home store
Options all dismissed
COUNCIL officers accused Next of being “inflexible” in its insistence of openingthe store in an out-of-town location designated for business and office use. Of the alter-
natives put to the fashion chain, these were the rea- sons for turn- ingthemdown: Former Royal Mail sorting office, nearMaid- stone East railway station: Does not offer free, surface-level parking. Less likely to drawin customers from the surrounding area. Foodstore is most appropriate use. Former Army&Navy store,Week Street – Not large enough. Uncertainty over adjacent bowling alley. Lowlevels of footfall. No surface level parking. Former G E Healthcare papermill, Springfield – Distance from the town centre and route along dual carriageway are not ideal.Would drawtrade away from FremlinWalk branch of Next and lead to its closure. Newnham Court, near M20 Junction 7– Uncertainty about timing and costs of planned comprehensive redevelopment. Len House, Mill Street – Site is currently occupied, building is too small andwould have to be fully redeveloped. Suffers from lack of free parking. Former T J Hughes unit, The Mall – Poor location, lack of surface level parking. Former Comet store, South Aylesford Retail Park (pictured) – Not enough floorspace for Next’s requirements. Site suffers from poor visibility as it is masked by other units, affecting profitability.
being built there?” He added that the opening of
M&S at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre had seen the closure of local branches in Gillingham and Chatham, with a negative impact on high street shopping. Cllr Richard Ash, a planning committee member, was less sympathetic and backed the Next scheme. He said: “This land is designated for business and high-tech use but there are no takers, and we have already departed from that by giving the go-ahead to a hotel. We keep land for too long without any- thing happening.” Mr Yandle said Eclipse Park was only 20% occupied.
Bid to expand nearby retail development
THE option of offering Next space at neighbouring Newn- ham Court, which the council has earmarked for retail devel- opment in its Core Strategy, was dismissed as too small by bor- ough leader Chris Garland. He insists that the cumulative amount of retail floorspace in Newnham Court will be re- stricted to 500sqm above that which already exists, and any additional retail floorspace above this limit must be com- plementary to town centre uses. However, Land Securities, which owns the site, intends to submit a much larger planning application toMaidstone Coun- cil to redevelop the land, cur- rently home to a garden centre, restaurant, veterinary hospital and numerous retail outlets. The scheme would retain the
pub and oast buildings, and in- crease floorspace to 42,000sqm. This would include a 3,700sqm garden centre with 3,900sqm of external display space, a 3,900sqm supermarket, an 8,400sqm three-storey de- partment store, 20,200 sq m of retail space for existing tenants and nearly 2,100sqm of space for food outlets, including the inn and oast buildings.
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