| Client | Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and Queensberry Real Estate |
|---|---|
| Turley office | Birmingham |
| Status | Outline planning permission granted. Awaiting determination of the reserved matters |
| LPA | Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council |
Transformative regeneration on Abbey Street in the heart of Nuneaton Town Centre
Our role
- The site is the first of a number of regeneration sites identified by the council for transformative growth and investment in and around the town centre. It is the first to be brought forward under the Transforming Nuneaton initiative and is described as the gateway to the town centre, with the potential to act as a catalyst for further investment in the town.
- Flexibility, including phased delivery, was key to the development and our planning strategy shaped a series of development parameters, within a hybrid permission, to ensure this could be achieved.
- We provided a robust planning and EIA strategy which minimised risk up front. We also provided a health impact assessment to measure the benefits of the development against key indicators, which led to a community medical hub being included in the range of uses.
- The key challenge was delivering a suitably flexible planning permission within a very strict timescale to enable the public sector funding secured to be utilised.
Results
- We worked collaboratively with Planning and Design Officers and the project team throughout to deliver a resolution to grant within 12 weeks of submission. The pre-start planning conditions were discussed and agreed early so that construction could commence as quickly as possible, in a phased manner, saving valuable time on the programme further down the line.
- The project will deliver the town’s first new hotel in five years, a state of the art cinema and leisure uses, a community medical hub and a series of locally-managed spaces for start-up businesses and local makers, set around a new public space with cafes and up to 33 new apartments on upper floors.
- The hotel is due to open by the end of 2022. Reserved matters for phase 2 are being prepared and proposals for other sites within the Transforming Nuneaton initiative are being developed by the council.