City planners unanimously approve £75 million scheme to revitalise Lowesmoor area of Worcester

The £75 million plan produced by Carillion Richardson to revitalise the Lowesmoor area of Worcester has received the unanimous endorsement of City planners and is now set to become a reality.

                                      

          Artist’s view of the new Lowesmoor development                           Views of the site as it currently stands

The planners all agreed that this area of the City is in desperate need of regeneration. Many of the buildings have been deteriorating over a long, period of time and previous ideas for the site have failed to come to fruition. As a result, the area has been of little productive use for many years, becoming an intimidating haven for drug use and vandalism, including a succession of fires.

This site is a legacy of Worcester’s industrial past and this part of Lowesmoor has effectively been in limbo for 40 years, ever since the final end to vinegar production and the decline of porcelain making many years earlier. Cut off from the city centre by the construction of City Walls road it became a blighted area used for a succession of low grade uses including tyre and exhaust services. Abused and neglected, the old buildings have deteriorated progressively since the 1960s.

The initiative to transform and revive a use for Lowesmoor started in 1998 when all the separate parts of the 7.5 acre site were brought back under a single ownership. Carillion Richardson then started working with architects to find a practical use for the site which is zoned within approved planning policies as an extension of the Worcester town centre shopping offer.

For eight years now, the company has been working closely with Worcester Council and bodies such as English Heritage to try and make the scheme a reality.Three years ago the first plan was submitted for planning approval and the Council passed a resolution to grant permission, however the plan faltered at the last hurdle when the decision was made to retain the Fermenting Shed which made that particular plan unworkable

The new scheme, submitted in April 2006, retains many features of the previously recommended Carillion Richardson proposal, including a carefully thought through design to overcome the barrier of City Walls road and reintegrate Lowesmoor safely with the rest of the town centre.

The Architectural design for this new urban quarter has sort to integrate the contrasting designs of the many existing buildings with new design ideas that draw upon the influences of the past. The intention has been to stimulate and enliven this part of Worcester with a variety of design ideas, as is found elsewhere in the city, and use complimentary materials to create continuity through the scheme

The design also meets the additional conservation goals raised by the previous scheme. As well as now retaining the Fermenting Shed the new scheme will restore the two listed buildings, The Infirmary and The New Filling Shed. It will also retain the St Martins Gate Offices, Grainger’s Porcelain Works Offices, the Counting House, The Cooperage and the basements under the old Furniture Store and Counting House. All these buildings will be extensively refurbished to roll back the years of decay and recapture their original qualities. The new open spaces that are integral to the proposed scheme will create a new opportunity for the people of Worcester to see and appreciate the restored and revitalized old buildings in a way that is currently not possible. Retaining the spirit of the past will be sensitively handled with such details as retaining the fragment of kiln base wall and reinterpreting its original form into the design. The position of other kiln base locations will be indicated in the paving along with the position of the old sliding gate across the entrance to the New Filling Shed.

The conservation requirements of the scheme have been met by reconfiguring the retail offer and providing ASDA with an anchor store in part of the site that will have the least impact in conservation terms. The provision of new foodstore floor space in and adjacent to city centres is a key element of the current national planning policy for sustainability. In its design and usage the new store will be sensitive to the needs of Worcester. The first floor will feature the George range of clothing and other non-food products. The ground floor will be dedicated to a comprehensive grocery offer and fresh food counters. In total, the scheme will provide 206,000 sq ft of retail all in carefully crafted modern units (which are in short supply in Worcester) and the plan will also include 10 flats and 15,000 sq ft of restaurants.  

Vibrant urban spaces necessary to make shoppers feel at ease have been created by the new layout. These open spaces will provide areas for shoppers and residents to move and relax in a safe and secure environment, from where it will be possible to appreciate the restored 19th Century buildings.

A multi-storey car park with 535 new car parking spaces will help ease pressure on existing city centre car parking helped by the many new pedestrian links to the main town centre shopping area.  Crossings will be created on Pheasant Street, St Martins and City Walls Road to ensure safe and easy pedestrian access. In so doing, the pedestrian link from Shrub Hill station to the City centre will also be enhanced.

Integral to the scheme, the local Territorial Army unit , 214 Battery Royal Artillery (Volunteers) will relocate from its current premises on Silver Street to two new sites provided by Carillion Richardson. The majority of their administration and training facilities will be accommodated in the Grade 2 listed, New Filling Shed building on the Lowesmoor site. The open space provided in the carefully designed scheme will also enable the public to see and appreciate this building. While a new 0.7 acre site at Midland Road will accommodate a two-storey 4,500 square foot building for the TA and the Army Cadet Force. The Midland Road site will also provide most of the Army's garaging facilities reducing significantly the need for heavy vehicles to travel in the city centre.

Lee Richardson, managing director of Richardsons said: “We are delighted that the scheme has received the endorsement of the City and look forward to creating a dynamic retail centre which will contribute to the increasing vitality of Worcester.”

“Through a painstaking process of consultation with the Council and organisations such as English Heritage we have developed a scheme which balances conservation and the restoration of many old buildings with the opportunity to create 1,000 new jobs and much needed facilities for the growing population of Worcester,” he added.  

Ends

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