Sorry guys, been busy gathering support for our proposal so that the council will give us the nod. We even have the residents association behind us now too. Today is the last day for public comment on the matter.
We now have all the letters of support & evidence to prove why the club would be complimentary to the area & not harm the purpose of the 'primary employment zone' as the council call it. We have had supporting statements from the senior partner at the estate agent (who is actually very influential), one from our planning consultant & one from the Rochdale Development agency (RDA). They were all telling the same basic story, but from slightly different angles, (i.e the estate agent tells it from a realistic marketing point of view & the RDA want to encourage companies to invest in the area).
Here's the one the RDA very kindly sent to the council planning officer:
Dear Chris
Blue Pit Mill – Application for Ground Floor Gymnasium
I refer to the above mentioned planning application and have considered the supporting statement submitted by Nolan Redshaw, acting as the letting agents for this scheme. The RDA have also visited the conversion scheme on two separate occasions.
We are, of course, familiar with the planning policy restrictions applying to leisure uses within Primary Employment Zones (PEZ) but would ask the Local Planning Authority to take the following into consideration:
1. The Blue Pit Mill scheme is a welcome addition to the portfolio of accommodation which is available in the borough. It is particularly suitable for small to medium sized service sector companies, providing competitively priced accommodation in a range of sizes.
2. The comprehensive conversion of this relatively large mill complex into basement secure storage units, some free-standing workshop uses and office uses on the upper floors of the main mill is a welcome investment in this established industrial area and serves to reinforce the status of the PEZ.
3. The mill is, however, sited in a somewhat secondary location and a comprehensive scheme of this nature represents a high risk approach by the owner/developer. There is a significant outlay of capital involved in this type of conversion scheme and a substantial risk in attracting tenants, especially at an early stage.
4. We have taken the view that the proposed gymnasium use on the ground floor is ancillary to the dominant use of the main mill for office use (and secure storage in the separately accessed basement). Such a use is considered entirely compatible with the main use and would add to the commercial attractiveness of the scheme by offering business tenants and their employees an additional facility within the overall scheme. It could also provide a localised health and fitness facility for employees in the wider area, again helping to reinforce the role of this area as an employment zone.
5. In visiting the scheme we have noted that the physical configuration (open-plan space with high ceilings) lends itself to this type of gymnasium facility and would be expensive to convert to offices, particularly given the availability of better proportioned and more attractive spaces on the upper floors. A workshop type of use would not be appropriate with offices above the space. A gymnasium use would also bring activity and interest to this part of the building directly adjacent to the main reasons.
For all the above reasons the RDA is supportive of this application and feel that the modest scale of this facility and the wider context provided by the Blue Pit Mill scheme as a whole, means that it would not materially detract from the Primary Employment Zone designation as a whole.
The next step is for me & John to attend a forum meeting in Castleton next week so that we can stand up & say a few words about the proposal. I'm not really sure exactly
when the council will make the final decision, but as I say, today is the last day for public comment. It may well be that the decision is made on the night of the forum meeting, who knows? What we do know is that we have the support of several councillors, one of which is the wife of another councillor who sits on the planning committee. He is not able to comment for obvious reasons but it is not without some confidence to assume we have his support too. With the application not being straightforward (i.e. there is now a lot of supporting evidence attached to the application) the decision is taken away from the planning officer & passed to the planning committee for decision.
