Shopping village ‘will hit town centre’
THE developer behind plans to turn Newnham Court Shopping Village into a £100m “lifestyle and outdoor retail experience” admits it will hit town centre sales inMaidstone, if approved. But the spokesman for Land Securities, Simon Hoare, says even if 27% of the site’s pro- jected £63m turnover was at the expense of the town centre, this would still amount to only a 3.2% drop in takings, way below that deemed to be signif- icant or capable of having an adverse impact. Detailed plans have now been received by Maidstone Council for the shopping redevelop- ment, which would treble the site’s shopping area and include a Waitrose, Debenhams, lifestyle shops and an enlarged new Nottcutts garden centre, built at the back of the site. Mr Hoare added: “In spite of
our plans, takings in the town are rising and will continue to rise.
“One has to accept that out-of-
town shopping is here, at places like Lakeside, Bluewater and Ashford, and Maidstone – not just the high street – is already losing money to them.” Mr Hoare says the 28,000sqm
scheme will not stop the town centre from retaining its diverse range of smaller businesses.
so thus far, not to become amini town centre.” He said proposals for a bus service would encour- age shoppers to make “link trips” into town and Section 106 money could offer a way to finance the extension of the town’s
KIMS and Maidstone Medical Centre
scheme. Mr Hoare said: “The Newn-
He added: “We want to attract the bigger retailers here, who
THEREwould be changes to roads and traffic flows ifNewnhamCourt Villagewas redeveloped. Land Securities spokesman
Simon Hoare said: “We are very confident that the not insignificant £5.5m of improvements this pri- vate project is injecting into the public highways will see a step change for the better for local peo- ple and motorists.” Proposals include:
say they want to come to Maid- stone but have felt unable to do
moving the village access off Bearsted Road to a slip road off the KIMS roundabout; traffic lights at junction 7 and the Bearsted Road/A249 and KIMS roundabouts; a dual carriageway between Bearsted Road/A249 and KIMS roundabouts; pedestrian crossings at both roundabouts. When asked whether the du-
ham Court redevelopment plans are not an either/or – they are a a ‘both’, and we are keen to en- sure the project is complemen- tary to the town. “We know it can deliver an ef- fective £100m investment in the town that will produce 1,000 new jobs and transform the ex- isting retail park – which we all agree is past its sell-by date.” He added that if approval is
given, the site and 900-space car park could be finished in three
Investment ‘will improve roads for motorists’
allingwouldbedonebefore, during or afterwork on the two-phase de- velopment, Mr Hoare said this wouldbefor the council’s planning committee to decide by setting a condition. Regarding disruption during
works, he added: “The existing road will continue in operation – the dualling would comprise two new lanes sliced into the site’s land facing Bearsted Road.”
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