Downsized Leale’s Yard given go ahead with affordable housing flats scrapped

Friday 22 November 2024

Revised plans for Leale’s Yard have been approved.

Outline planning permission was granted to the CI Coop and Omnibus for 338 residential units on the site two years ago, but they applied to cut this number after revising the proposal because they need to use a different supplier of modular units.

Flats for affordable housing that were going to be built above the Coop store have been scrapped, with changes to States policy meaning they are no longer a requirement.

There have also been changes in the mix of office space and commercial space.

The proposed supermarket is around half the size at 1,800sqm while a three storey and a four storey office building will be included in the previously approved commercial area.

Since the States' decision to zero-rate a policy which required large housing projects to include a percentage of affordable housing, there is no longer a planning requirement for this to be part of the Leale's Yard development as it was when the first application was made.

Planning conditions, which number 27, that were put in place for the original application remain with some minor amendments.

"The requirement for planning covenants to be in place to manage ecology and traffic matters remains as previously and the previous covenants dealing with these matters will need to be entered into again with amendments to refer to a new grant of outline planning permission," the planning report states.

"The previous planning covenant regarding affordable housing contribution will no longer be required in connection with the present application."

The current proposal includes 296 one- and two-bedroom apartments which with 18 previously proposed townhouses, gives a total of 314 residential units.

This is a reduction of 24 from the previous outline proposal as the previously proposed 26 units above the Coop supermarket have been omitted and two additional units included within the reconfigured blocks of flats.

Retail uses of various kinds make up a total of 4,058 sqm gross internal floor area while offices account for 5,380 sqm and industry, storage and distribution 787 sqm.

Traffic and Highway Services raised concerns about there not being enough parking in the new proposal.

The applicant responded by adding a half parking deck to the multi story car park, so there are now 412 spaces compared with 504 under the previous plans.

Of these, 231 will be for residents.

What has changed?

• Rearrangement and redistribution of residential accommodation across the site. The number of blocks has been reduced through consolidation of residential units. Along sensitive boundaries, residential block heights have been reduced to four storeys or less with three six-storey blocks in the centre of the site framing the central public space.
• Consolidation of civic and green spaces into a single combined public open space at the heart of the scheme.
• Reduction in scale of the Co-op supermarket with previously proposed residential units above omitted/redistributed within the site. The store has a double height shop floor area and mezzanine at the rear for storage, operational requirements and staff administration offices.
• Separation created between the Co-op and the multi-storey car park.
• Reduction in height of the multi-storey car park from five to four storeys.
• Increased pedestrian and cycle access.
• Servicing and delivery areas provided to residential and retail uses.
• Redesign of the commercial development zone with changes to building typology, layout and servicing strategy. The two light industrial units to the north-west of the site remain at two storeys, with the first floor a mezzanine space covering 50% of the building's footprint. The proposed office accommodation is three and four storey.

You can read the full decision and conditions HERE.

The States has been in discussions about investing up to £35m in the development, but there have been complications including concerns about construction methods of the housing and flood risks.

Ealry in September, Policy & Resources President Lyndon Trott told the Assembly that he hoped proposals about any States investment would be published before the end of the year.

A Policy & Resources spokesperson said: "The committee continues to discuss Leale's Yard with Omnibus and is unable to comment further at this stage while those discussions take place."

The Coop declined to comment.

Omnibus were approached for comment but have not yet responded.