Tunstall - Phase Four Welcomed!

RESIDENTS WELCOME NEW PLANS IN TUNSTALL!

13 June 2005

Members of the public who visited a two-day exhibition in Tunstall about exciting new plans for the town have given their overwhelming support for the scheme.

The new mixed-use development is being delivered by Dransfield Properties who are responsible for the on-going development work in Tunstall including the Matalan store, which opened last year.

The South Yorkshire based urban regeneration specialists have already invested £12 million in Tunstall and the future phases promise up to  £15 million of further investment as well as hundreds more new jobs.

Plans for phases four and five for Tunstall were unveiled at the public consultation sessions, which were held in April at the town’s Community Centre.

Phase four involves the redevelopment of the former Wedgwood Alexandra Works site, bringing forward new primary care heath facilities as well as a JJB Health and Fitness Centre with first floor retail store. There would also be a further 60,000 sq ft of new retail space on this part of the development site.

Phase five is a High Street scheme aimed at encouraging greater footfall. It would deliver three new purpose built retail units onto the High Street, built in the style of surrounding premises. These three new units would be built on land on the south side of the community centre bounded by Lambert Street.

As well as regenerating this part of the High Street and the former Wedgwood factory site the new developments would support up to 500 new jobs in the area, which was badly hit by the closure of the factory two years ago.

After looking at the plans at the April consultation sessions members of the public were invited to fill in response forms with their comments on the scheme and asked if they supported the development.

A total of 73 people chose to fill in a former and of those people ALL said they were in support of the new plans for Tunstall.

Comments from members of the public included:
“
Hopefully this will bring improvements to the whole of the town
We have needed this for a long time
Will encourage visitors and employment
Excellent idea for jobs and health
Everything will be on our doorstep
Tunstall has needed this for years
The move to modern premises for the Health Centre is a MUST!
Pleased to see developments on the lower end of the High Street
An excellent move
Should draw people to the area
”

As well as support for the scheme overall 90 per cent of people were also in favour of the older Dunning Street doctors surgery moving to the new state of the art premises within the development saying it would be a great improvement in facilities for patients.

Retail Property Director for Dransfield Properties, Andrew Malley, said: “We are delighted with the feedback we had from our two day exhibition. We have now gone through all the forms, which were filled in and will be responding to any specific issues, which have been raised.

“All our research indicates there is a need for further investment of this sort in Tunstall. We are delighted to be working with the PCT on the project to deliver a brand new first floor surgery for the four doctors currently working out of the older premises at Dunning Street.

“We are encouraged by the very positive support we have had already through our consultation process and we are now looking forward to working with the authority and the new Mayor to bring forward this further investment in the town.”

The support for the future phases of the development comes as phases two and three of Jasper Square are opening to the public. Pizza Hut is now trading, and Choices Video opens later this month. Next and Argos are due to open in July.

Two further units on Rathbone Street are also due for completion later this summer – one of them fronting the High Street to strengthen links with the High Street shops.

The phase four and five plans were submitted to the authority in April. It’s hoped they will be considered by the planning control committee in Autumn this year.

For further information about Dransfield Properties Ltd visit our website at www.dransfield.co.uk

For further information contact :-

Amanda Holmes
Public Relations, Dransfield Properties Ltd
 Tel : 01226 360644 or 07971 854733

EDITORS NOTES

1. Dransfield Properties Ltd is in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and has been responsible for more retail developments than any other operation of its kind in the UK.

2. In 2001 Dransfield Properties was awarded the BSCS award for working with the community. In November 2002 the company won the RICS Pro Yorkshire Award for Conservation/Regeneration. In 2003 the company won the RICS Pro Yorkshire Regeneration award.

Seven year old Caitlin Moran  of St Josephs Catholic Primary School  Tunstall chose the name Jasper Square in a competition organised by Dransfield Properties – the name reflects the world famous Wedgwood Jasper Ware. Three schools took part in the naming competition, they were St Josephs Catholic Primary School,  St Mary’s School and St Wilfreds School.

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk