Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Committee Room

Contact: Christine Lewis 

Items
No. Item

15.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Gwilt, A. Little and Marshall.

 

Eadie, Strachan attending

16.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interests.

17.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Minutes:

The Minutes of the previous meeting as circulated were agreed and signed as a correct record.

18.

Lichfield City Centre Master Plan - Draft for Consultation pdf icon PDF 124 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report on the draft Lichfield City Centre Masterplan which David Lock Associates (DLA) had been commissioned by the Council to produce. It was requested that Members give their views on the draft document before being published for consultation. Representatives from DLA were in attendance to present their report and aid the Committee in their discussions

 

The Committee heard, as part of the presentation, that Stage 1 of the masterplan where baseline analysis had been completed and DLA were now in Stage 2 of having a draft masterplan with the final Stage 3 being the definitive document.  The Committee also noted the core proposals and that it was aspirational but considered deliverable. 

 

The Committee were introduced to the proposed masterplan Quarters which split the City centre into areas which established the character of that area and in turn aided the understanding of proposals for development opportunities and publish realm priorities.  These Quarters were named to be Cathedral Quarter, Market Quarter, Business & Learning Quarter and Southern Gateway Quarter.

 

The Committee then discussed each development opportunity in turn.

 

Birmingham Road Gateway

The Committee noted it was envisioned that people would arrive to an area that was clear and attractive with a better flow for pedestrians. 

 

It was noted that there would be a residential element to the site and this could be developed first.  Members were pleased to note that it was suggested that there should be an affordable housing element to the residential development and DLA had worked on the approved policy of 40% affordable housing. There was some discussion on what demographic should be prioritised for the housing for example elderly, the young or families but it was noted that at this stage, the proposals were flexible.  It was reported that there could be scope to build in partnership with a housing association as had been successful in other parts of the city.  There was some discussion whether the land was too prime in nature to try and maximise return from housing and have less affordable or whether due to the Council being the land owner, focus should be less financial and on housing need.

 

Another element of the site was a new modern multistorey car park and the Committee were again in agreement to this proposal.  It was reported that the County Council had no objections as long as the Southern Bypass was completed before development.  There were concerns that there should be more planning and consideration to traffic management issues getting into the centre and to this site.  It was reported that the emerging Local Plan would be out for consultation at the same time and could deal with these sorts of issues.

 

It was reported that the site would then have some food and beverage outlets and it was requested that family focused providers were sought as there was a current lack of this type in the area.  There was also suggestion for flexible office space for start-up businesses.  Final the Committee noted the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.