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Nene Waterfront Regeneration Project signs up Taylor Woodrow

Securing Taylor Woodrow is a major achievement and a key milestone in the £47 million regeneration project plan to develop this new and exciting quarter to Wisbech. The announcement comes just two weeks after outline planning permission was granted on the innovative and ambitious waterfront project that will transform the economic fortunes of Wisbech and the whole of the Fenland area.

In the coming months the Nene Waterfront Regeneration Project Team will be working closely with Taylor Woodrow to put together the detailed planning application for submission early next year.Detailed planning consent has already been granted for Phase 1, encompassing highway and landscape works that include the creation of a landscaped Harbour Square and a pedestrian orientated space along Nene Parade between Silver Street and Russell Street. The detailed planning permission also includes remediation works on two of the acquired sites.

The signing of the Co-operation Agreement between Taylor Woodrow and Fenland District Council is supported by the core funding partners of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), English Partnerships and the European Regeneration Development Fund administered by GO-East, demonstrating the benefits of ‘regeneration through partnerships’.The outline planning approval provides for a maximum of 370 homes, plus a multi-use building called The Boathouse, which will include a Yacht Club, Port Office, meeting and conference facilities and 31 knowledge-based business units. The Boathouse will be a landmark building, designed to add a ‘wow’ factor to the project.

The funders, including the Council, have put in more than £10 million to cover the cost of acquiring the land either through negotiation or, failing that, through compulsory purchase, to carry out remedial works to deal with contamination issues together with associated infrastructure improvements prior to transferring the land to Taylor Woodrow in order to build out the housing and retail elements of the project. The Council, with committed partner funding support, will continue with the designing and constructing of The Boathouse along with the delivery of a wet dock, boat lifting facility and slipway provision to augment the already successful Wisbech Yacht Harbour.

The waterfront-focus of the proposed regeneration project has been enhanced by the completion of the expansion of the state-of-the-art yacht harbour to 128 berths alongside the brownfield site earmarked for development.The Taylor Woodrow element of the regeneration project will see its house building arm, Bryant Homes, draw up a detailed planning application for a maximum of 370 homes, 13 per cent of which will be categorised as ‘affordable’ and to construct them over the coming four years.The outline planning consent included illustrative plans showing that the area could be developed with five-story residential buildings with ground floors for commercial use fronting the river, stepping down to two storeys on the eastern edge to complement existing buildings in that area, with the Nene Parade being given over to pedestrians. There will be a broad mix of homes and the development will include a series of squares and courts to enhance the residential environment and improved links between the town centre and the riverside. 

The development promises to have a dramatic impact on the resurgence of Wisbech, and Fenland as a whole. It will have an economic impact far beyond the hard facts that it will: 

• Increase the population of Wisbech by approximately 900 people. 

• Create over 150 new jobs, increasing during the construction phase. 

• Ensure that 13 per cent of the homes will be designated as 'affordable'. 

• Create 465 off-street parking spaces and 55 dedicated on-street parking bays.

 

With outline planning approval, the development approach will be to divide the project into three phases, each accompanied by detailed planning applications for:

• Cleaning up the site and preparing it for Taylor Woodrow to move on and begin construction. 

• Highway improvements, including the creation of a pedestrian priority Nene Parade, in advance of construction work. 

• The construction of The Boathouse. 

 Planning applications for each phase of the residential/commercial developments will be submitted by the Taylor Woodrow team as appropriate.Phil Chapman, Taylor Woodrow’s Anglia Regional Managing Director, said: "We are delighted to be part of this major regeneration project. It is particularly exciting to be part of a project that will have such a positive impact on the economic development of the town of Wisbech and the whole of the Fens."

Cllr Geoffrey Harper, Portfolio Holder for Open for Business, said: "We are delighted to welcome Taylor Woodrow aboard. This is the biggest development project to have taken place in Fenland for hundreds of years and it is fitting that we should have signed up Britains largest house builder to help transform Wisbech.”

Simon Snook of English Partnerships, said: “We were very impressed with Taylor Woodrow’s tender proposals and its sustainable approach to the regeneration of the Nene Waterfront. They have a vast experience in this area which they will undoubtedly bring to the project.”

Karen Hendry, for EEDA, said: “Fenland has for a long time been considered a rural backwater. This regeneration project will catapult Wisbech and the Fens into the limelight which will, in turn, spark an economic resurgence.”

Andy Luff of GO-East, said: “There are areas of Wisbech that are among the poorest in Britain and the regeneration of the heart of the town can only boost employment and economic prospects. The buzz created by this waterfront project has already had a positive effect on the port and on increasing interest in the yacht harbour.”