A developer has shut access to a public car park in Chatham just days after Medway Council revealed that it won't sell it for development. Donard Living erected fencing around the former Buzz Bingo in the High Street, which it owns, on Monday this week (16 January). It has left motorists with no access to Union Place car park next to it, owned by Medway Council. The only access to the council-owned car park is through the Donard Living-owned Buzz Bingo site. The move was made just days after Future Chatham revealed that Medway Council no longer intends to sell its car park for development. Donard Living put forward plans to redevelop the former Buzz Bingo, including the council-owned car park, into 231 homes earlier this month. The Belfast-based firm planned to buy the council-owned car park and it had therefore included it as part of the proposals. However, after the council's shock U-turn axing plans to sell the 49-space car park, Donard Living coincidentally blocked access to it. One local business that relies heavily on the council-owned car park has described the developer's actions as an "aggressive move". Not-for-profit youth theatre Spotlites Theatre Company, which has neighboured the bingo hall for 26 years, says it is "deeply disappointed". Kieron Riddell, director of Spotlites Theatre Company, said: "Unfortunately Donard Living provided us with no notice on this aggressive move, nor did they notify the council. "During our meetings with Donard we have been informed that they wouldn’t look to start closing off access until the latter part of the year when expected development would begin, and that due to trying to help with the impact this would have on Spotlites they would continue to allow access for us during development until it was no longer viable." Members of the theatre's session for adults with learning disabilities, which ran on Monday whilst the fencing was being put up, faced disruption due to the sudden closure of the car park, he added. It's understood that access to Union Place car park was set to remain open until at least the latter half of this year, which is when Donard Living was hoping that development would begin. Spotlites Theatre Company remains open as usual, but it has set up a fundraising campaign to secure the long-term future of its theatre. Cllr Vince Maple, Chatham Central councillor and Medway Labour Group leader, also shared his disappointment about Donard Living's actions. In a social media post he said: "Very disappointing to see just a week after the planning application has been submitted Donard Living blocking access to the Medway Council car park giving no notice to either the council or businesses. "Not a good way to build community consensus for any planning application." Medway Council is now aware that the developer has secured the Buzz Bingo site, preventing access to its car park. A Medway Council spokesperson said: “We are liaising with the developer to see if access to the car park can be maintained. "We will also be looking into the possibility of creating new access to the car park from New Road.” It still currently has no plans to sell Union Place car park, the council added. Donard Living bought the Buzz Bingo site for an undisclosed sum in December 2021 with its finance partner Zetland Capital.
Last year, Medway Council considered options such as negotiating with Donard Living to maintain long-term access to its car park or to sell it to them, according to a Freedom of Information request by Future Chatham. Councillors were set to green light the closure of the car park at a Cabinet meeting on 18 October last year, allowing it to be sold off for development. However, the decision was deferred until a future meeting and then the council confirmed that it no longer intended to sell the car park this month. Update 18/01/23: Donard Living was approached for comment but responded following the release of this article. A spokesperson for Donard Living said: “Now the outline planning application for the redevelopment of the former Buzz Bingo in Chatham is live, we are required by our insurers for both security and health and safety reasons to secure the site. This will enable our contractors to undertake the necessary technical surveys and monitoring required for development and planning process. “The Council’s property team were notified 14 months ago of our intention to close access to the Buzz Bingo car park by email on 8 November 2021. “The hoardings will make the site safe and secure, which is of particular importance given recent incidents of antisocial behaviour in the area. “In relation to the situation of the sale of the car park, Donard’s management has not received a formal notification from the Council’s property team of its decision to no longer sell the car park and so we are unable to comment at this time.” A developer has put forward plans to redevelop Chatham's former Buzz Bingo into 231 homes. Donard Living is seeking permission from Medway Council to replace the disused bingo hall, on the corner of Union Street and the High Street, with 231 homes. A mix of one, two and three-bedroom flats would be delivered across two buildings, ranging from 6 to 10 storeys in height. The proposals also include two ground floor units facing the High Street, which the developer suggests could be used for commercial or community purposes. Some of the space is earmarked for not-for-profit, youth theatre Spotlites Theatre Company, which has neighboured the site for 26 years. A podium courtyard garden with a play area, 93 undercroft car parking spaces and 231 cycle parking spaces are also part of the plans. Documents from the planning application say the design of the two blocks takes inspiration from the Art Deco architecture of the Ritz Cinema, which previously stood on the site, and the Ravelin Building to reflect Chatham's naval history - despite it being found at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham. The proposed redevelopment of the bingo hall, which closed in 2020, also includes the adjoining Union Place car park, owned by Medway Council. Donard Living previously said that it planned to buy the 49-space car park and it had therefore been included in its plans. However, just a week after the planning application appeared online, Medway Council confirmed that it no longer intends to sell the car park in a shock U-turn. It remains unclear whether or not Donard Living will proceed with its plans in their current form despite the car park no longer being available for development. Donard Living bought the Buzz Bingo site for an undisclosed sum in December 2021 with its finance partner Zetland Capital.
The Belfast-based developer recently gained planning permission for 221 homes in Bristol, 268 homes in Salford and 374 homes at Bardell Wharf, Rochester, although it hasn't delivered any homes to date. It held a public consultation for its plans for the Chatham site in November last year, before submitting the proposals to Medway Council just over a month later. The plans are due to be decided by Thursday, 6 April this year. You can be view and comment on the plans by clicking here to visit Medway Council's Planning Portal. Medway Council has pushed back the closure of two car parks in Chatham town centre as talks with a potential buyer continue. Queen Street and Slicketts Hill car parks were set to be shut by Medway Council on 31 December 2022. However, the council has now confirmed that the car parks will remain open for the foreseeable future as negotiations with a buyer looking to develop them carry on. The car parks were put on the market in July last year after approved plans for 179 flats allegedly stalled. Developers Creval (Chatham) proposed to build four blocks on the site, with the tallest reaching eight storeys. Estate agents Harrisons Chartered Surveyors listed the leasehold of the car parks as for sale, with its website saying that the council wanted the buyer of the site to develop it and was not expecting the car parks to be retained or replaced. Offers were invited until 29 September last year, although it's not yet known what the outcome was. A spokesperson for Medway Council said: "The Queen Street and Slicketts Hill car parks in Chatham currently remain open whilst we continue talks with a potential buyer. "We have decided to keep the car parks open until the sites are sold. "There currently isn’t a date for when the car parks will be permanently closed. We will update residents on social media when a date is confirmed." A Freedom of Information request by Future Chatham revealed that Queen Street car park and Slicketts Hill car park made £73,200 and £114,446 in income respectively between 2010 and 2022.
Meanwhile, the expenditure for Queen Street car park and Slicketts Hill car park was £46,982 and £59,930 respectively from 2020 to 2022. The expenditure figures don't account for the period before 2020 as the council's finance system doesn't hold information older than three years. The car parks opened in the 1990s and contain 50 parking spaces each.
A car park on the edge of Chatham town centre will no longer be sold for development after Medway Council backtracked on its plans.
Union Place car park, off New Road, was earmarked to be closed and sold, as part of a 231-home proposal by developer Donard Living for the former Buzz Bingo next to it. Councillors were set to green light the closure of the 49-space car park at a Cabinet meeting on 18 October last year, allowing it to be sold off for development. However, the decision was deferred until a future meeting and now the council has confirmed that it no longer intends to sell the car park.
The car park can only be accessed through the privately-owned bingo hall site, which closed in 2020 and was bought by Donard Living's finance partner, Zetland Capital, a year later.
The council considered options such as negotiating with the owner of the bingo site to maintain long-term access or to sell it to them, according to a Freedom of Information request by Future Chatham. Before submitting its planning application last month, Donard Living said that it planned to purchase the council-owned car park and it had therefore been included within the proposed development. However, it's now unclear what impact the council's U-turn will have on Donard Living's planning application, and whether or not the developer will continue to pursue its proposals in their current form.
Objections to the planning application have already been lodged by residents and business owners, who aired their concerns about the impact of the car park's closure on local businesses and community facilities.
Spotlites Theatre Company, a youth theatre located next to the car park, was among those fearing for the future of its business due to the potential development of the car park. In response to the news that the car park will no longer be sold, Spotlites Theatre Company described it in a Facebook post as a "big win" and said that it "does ease some of the stress and concerns this coming development was causing".
The Facebook post by the theatre company said: "So the car park is no longer for sale, and will not be sold to Donard. However we still need to to deny current planning permission involving the carpark, and we still need to be wary about access to the car park.
"The only access at the moment is through the buzz bingo car park, which is Donards property, and they can block this access when they like. So we need to ensure the council work on getting new access created, and whilst that is happening have current access remain open. "We do want to say, despite not being able to see eye to eye with Donard their offer to provide us with a rent free venue is something we are truly grateful for. They didn't have to work with us, but they did and we did all try to come to an amicable agreement." The plans for the Buzz Bingo site are due to be decided by Thursday, 6 April and can be viewed here on Medway Council's Planning Portal. Donard Living has been approached for comment. |
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