REBUILDING LANCASTER AND MORECAMBE: CLONE TOWN BRITAIN?
Story first posted: 27/6/02. Updated 29/6/06
See also • Development History • Development News Archive • Kingsway • Morecambe's West End "Degeneration"
Written by John Freeman. Photos: John Freeman
Please note: while this feature is regularly revised, some external links may have changed. Please let me know if you find broken links!

Centros Miller unveiled its initial plans for the Canal Corridor, in May 2006, which include shops, a department store and some green space. The Musicians Co-op would have its own new building and both the Dukes and the Grand could see additional features. A multi-storey car park is also part of the scheme.

An indicative sketch illustrating how the Stonewell entranceway to the new £100 million development planned by Centros Miller for Lancaster's canal corridor area might look. Click on the image for a larger picture, or click here. Current businesses, including the Stonewell Post Office would be relocated. Opponents claim such a development would destroy Lancaster town centre.

Click the image or here for a larger version of this graphic outining Centros Miller's initial ideas for the Canal Corridor area, published in February 2006. The larger image will open in a new window. Click here for some of your views on the plans. This will also open in a new window.

Local campaign group It's Our City is worried at the affect the plans will have on local residents, which include a multi-storey car park to replace current provision on Edward Street, advocating research into Park and Ride. In June, they announced they had rejected plans for developing the Lancaster Canal Corridor, a move they said had been prompted by major concerns that Centros Miller have failed to address. (See news story). Both the City Council and Centros Miller were swift in their response to defend the outline plans (see story), but this has raised questions about debate being stifled.

Earlier in the year, on 11 May, It's Our City presented a letter to Council leader Ian Barker identifying several areas of concern, which we reprint here in full:

Traffic: Will the new development cause more traffic chaos in Lancaster?

• It’s Our City are concerned about the impact of the new development bringing more traffic into Lancaster. This will add to the current congestion problems, in particular on Bulk Rd, Caton Rd and Ullswater Rd. How do the Council and Centros Miller plan to deal with this problem?
• It’s Our City would also like to see the justification for proposing a new multi-storey car park rather than a Park and Ride.

Physical Design: Will the development ruin the existing city centre?

• It’s Our City would like further details of the height of the new development and the effect on the skyline and views of the city.
• It’s Our City feel that the green space is far too small and that the current plans display an unimaginative approach to the inclusion of public space.  
• It’s Our City is requesting future public rights of access, public accountability and ownership within the development as they do not want the whole area to become privately owned and controlled.
• It’s Our City would like to know why the proposed new bridges over Stonewell and the canal are necessary.
• It’s Our City are also concerned about the potential release of buried contaminants from the site during the construction process.
  

Economic Impact: One in five local shops are empty, so do we need any more?

• It’s Our City are concerned that this development will attract trade away from the existing city centre, and that this will have a negative impact on local retailers, resulting in more empty shops in Lancaster. Despite the recent report that one in five shops in Lancaster are empty, Centros Miller has claimed that the number of empty shops will not increase. What evidence does Centros Miller have to support their bold assertion?
• Centros Miller has also claimed that development will bring new shoppers to the city. It’s Our City would like further details on who these shoppers are and where they will come from.

Public Participation: Why don’t the plans reflect what local people want?

• To date, the City Council and Centros Miller’s consultation has been inadequate for a development which will radically alter the heart of Lancaster for decades to come. It’s Our City feel that the City Council must guarantee a full and unbiased consultation in order to achieve genuine public participation in the planning of this development.

"People are worried that these plans have not been properly thought through and that the impact on local businesses, residents and traffic will be huge," feels local resident Carol Gale. "The City Council and Centros Miller have a duty to ensure they do not destroy the heart of Lancaster.”

“When people were consulted two years ago they said that they wanted housing, green space and a cultural quarter, and that any shops should complement existing retail in Lancaster, not compete with it," adds local man Billy Pye. "Instead, Centros Miller proposes to build a huge shopping centre and a multi-storey car park. Why don’t they build a Park and Ride? The proposed green space is tiny and there is no extra space for cultural activities”.

"The main issue that 'It's our City' has identified-- the concern about traffic -- will be the major subject in this next round of consultation," Centrps Miller's Associate Director, David Lewis responds, "and also much further consultation in the months leading up to the planning application.

" Other fears they are raising -- including aspects of the actual design and their worries about the impact of the development-- are simply premature at the moment as we are still only at the masterplanning stage of this project. Therefore speculation about such issues at present is unnecessarily negative and really only serves to raise some quite unfounded fears in the minds of the public.

"In the next few months, we expect to start all the detailed design work with the aim of submitting a planning application early in 2007. That process will involve at least another six months of consultation and a huge amount of work on the economic, transport and environmental aspects of the development. This will all be part of the public planning process during which we aim to fully engage in discussions with the public - so 'It's Our City' really has nothing to fear about there not being enough consultation." (You can read a full response to It's Our City's objections from Centros Miller here - PDF format document)

The Lancaster Guardian (24/2/06) reported that the plans had the support of Alan Young, postmaster of the Stonewell Post Office (which would be demolished and relocated); and an "anonymous" group of tennants also said they supported the scheme.

Once again, despite clear and easily accessed opponents to the scheme in its outline form, the Guardian chose not to include any dissenting voices in its coverage of reaction to the plans, although it did publish a letter from Lancaster resident James Wood expressing conern at the unelected nature of developers.

20/12/05: Lancaster City Council announced Centros Miller had been selected by the Council as preferred developer for the 10-acre (4-hectare) Canal Corridor North site in April 2005 (see CM's April press release), which is principally owned by the council and Mitchell's Brewery. A consultation about the project began in December 2005. In February, the company published its initial ideas for the site (see story).

Centros Miller have opened a web site, Castle View (www.castle-view.info), which they intend to be a reliable up-to-date source of information on Lancaster's Canalside project.

You can also contact Centros Miller to give your views or suggestions in three ways.By email: comment@castle-view.info; by telephone: 01242 256805; or Freepost: Halogen, Freepost, 227 London Road, Cheltenham GL52 6BR.

The proposed mixed-use development is intended to extend the city’s retail and leisure amenities. A new Debenhams department store is likely to be part of the proposals. The City Council is currently (as of late 2005) undertaking a study to asses the need for further retail space

The plans will mean businesses on Alfred Street will have to be relocated, as will community facillities such as the Musicians' Co-op.

Council leader Ian Barker has described the Musicians' Co-op as a "a valuable resource. That's why we want to incorporate it in any development plans."

In May 2006 local organisation SCN Consulting reported some one in five local shops were empty, costing, the grop estimates, over £1million in lost business rates last year.

"The council want to oversee a major new development of the city centre here in Lancaster, but these findings raise major questions," feels Dr Joel Harman, who carried out the research in Lancaster. "The council will need to take a good hard look at the impact of the plans before giving the go ahead.
"The number of empty properties is an issue that urgently needs to be addressed. Nothing short of well thought out economic policies to support local businesses will stop Lancaster becoming yet another identi-kit clone town."

Some of Centros Miller's developments in other towns have caused much controversy, mirroring concerns that are beginning to be raised in Lancaster. In Bury St. Edmunds, Centros Miller employed media consultants Halogen, a public relations company, and successfully convinced the local press to argue for their vision for the future of Bury St Edmunds and promote plans (read a February 2005 CM press release outlining those plans here) for their re-development of the Cattlemarket, which have now received planning permission from the local council.

Opponents of the plans in Bury St. Edmunds say the proposals will fundamentally ruin the character and lay-out of the town (Read Virtual-Lancaster's November 2005 news story), and the plans were rejected by the public on a number of occasions.

Centros Miller have responded to these claims. Steve Bryson, who works for Halogen, CM's PR company, told Virtual-Lancaster: "In Bury St Edmunds, we organised four stages of consultation for Centros Miller over a four year period -- using everything from workshops with local interest groups, focus groups drawn from the general public (via random selection from the electoral roll) and from schools, public exhibitions, email, telephone and Freepost feedback and a specially commissioned scientifically representative opinion poll of local people by NOP World.

"Good communication was also essential and throughout we sought wide-ranging publicity via the local media as well as producing household leaflet drops, 4-page advertorial wraps (around the local freesheets), posters on site and a comprehensive project website to explain the scheme and how public feedback was being used to good effect. Full reports of the consultation were also made public at each stage and were submitted to the council as ancillary documentation in support of the planning application. And Centros Miller’s open approach to consultation on this project was even endorsed by the Government watchdog CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment).

"Obviously, appreciation of development and architectural design is very subjective and no matter how hard you try, there will usually be some people who will never be happy with development proposals. You are of course already aware of the “Knights of St Edmund” cult. This recent anti-development and somewhat occult campaign has been dreamt up by a small number of people in the town who, having not participated in any of the public consultation, have decided nevertheless to issue a curse wishing harm on all of us who are involved with the project." Steve describes the Knights campaign as "strewn with factual errors, misrepresentations and libels".

"Despite this curse, we all remain very well and Centros Miller has since gone on to win an industry “Gold Award” for its development in Boston, Lincolnshire (where it moved a listed medieval building some 30 metres and restored it for continuing use). We are of course ignoring the curse (though it still takes up some of my time responding to media inquiries), while at the same time working very closely with the council in Bury St Edmunds on a joint communications plan aimed at explaining everything to visitors once construction work starts in autumn next year.

"As a part of this pre-construction activity, we are currently producing a website promoting the whole town centre. While unfinished at present, you may be interested in taking a look at this: www.moreheart.info."

The Canal Corridor Plans
You can find out more about the current plans for the Canal Corridor on the City Council's web site (PDF documents):
• The Canal Corridor North Brief
• The Canal Corridor South Brief

What do YOU think about the Centros Miller proposal? E-mail us your views at john@virtual-lancaster.net

Web Links

• Castle View
Centros Miller's web site about Lancaster's Canal Corridor development. As of March 2006, includes everything shown during the company's last round of consultation meetings. They will also add more information to this site as it becomes available – including the minutes of the various workshops the team is having with the various council officers.

• Clone Town Britain (PDF)
The New Economics Foundation's fascinating insight into the way Biritsh cities have all turned into the same place...

• Click here for more on recent development history in Lancaster