CITY CENTRE PLAN SPELLS TRAFFIC CHAOS
12/7/06: Traffic gridlock and the death of Lancaster's existing city centre -- that's the future for the city if the City Council signs a deal with Centros Miller later this month, claim campaigners.

The grim predictions for Lancaster's future came at a packed public meeting – some 200 people attended – organised by pressure group It's Our City (IOC) at Lancaster Town Hall on Monday.

The Council's Cabinet will be deciding whether to sign a Development Agreement contract with Centros Miller at its next meeting on 25 July at 10.00am at Morecambe Town Hall.
Speakers outlined the City Council's proposal to grant developers Centros Miller a 250 year lease on a massive new private retail development later this month that will replace Stonewell, St Leonardsgate car park and the now derelict Mitchells Brewery.

Campaigners, who have long argued for an alternative, low cost housing and proper arts quarter development for the area, say the Centros Miller development would effectively create a new, privately-owned city centre that will draw customers away from existing centre businesses.

Above: Click the image or here for a larger version of this graphic outlining Centros Miller's initial ideas for the Canal Corridor area, published in February 2006. The larger image will open in a new window. Click here for some of your views on the plans. This will also open in a new window.

Car traffic in Lancaster is also likely to increase, with the proposed new development calculated to generate over 10,000 extra car trips per day (currently, the one-way system carries approximately 32,000 vehicles daily).

The IOC group believes the Centros Miller 'champions' on Lancaster City Council – outlining their development strategy recently, a Centros Miller executive described their strategy as relying on 'champions' within local councils to steer their 'Anytown UK' retail developments into reality - are determined to push through a decision to sign a contract with the company.

Opponents say they are also concerned by the whole process by which Centros Miller became a 'preferred bidder', since it was generously spared the inconvenience of having to compete or tender for the opportunity.

Steve Bryson, Halogen's PR Consultant for Centros Miller who was at the meeting revealed their Lancaster champions were the City Council's Head of Planning and the Leader of the Council, Ian Barker, as the relationship is a partnership - a claim Coun Barker has since refuted, see news story. (It is perhaps no surprise then that John Donnellon, the Council's Corporate Director with overall responsibility for Planning recently attacked the IOC group for acting prematurely, accusing them of being against development in the city in a Council press release.
Perhaps he would rather IOC protested after the controversial contract had been signed?).

CANAL CORRIDOR: BACKGROUND
Jump to:
• What is a 'Preferred Bidder'? • Consultation or Marketing? • Privatising our City • How this could affect Morecambe • Housing Issues • Accountability • Web Links

What is a 'Preferred Bidder?'
Part of the “Canal Corridor” site earmarked for development belongs to Mitchells Brewery, who formed the initial business relationship with Centros Miller. As the Council’s Planning Department wanted to develop the larger area surrounding the Brewery also, Centros Miller were awarded preferred bidder status on the strength of their deal with Mitchells, who, presumably, have done well out of finding themselves in a position to select the future developer of Lancaster's City Centre (the current plans include brand new offices for the company, which has done little to market the land it owns for other uses until now). There was no tendering process and no other ideas have been considered.

Consultation or Marketing?
Centros Miller developments throughout the UK are typically cloned shopping precincts housing chain store outlets anchored by a department store, usually Debenhams. Their prior consultation and PR work is done by partner company Halogen and it comes as no surprise that their public consultations invariably result in the discovery that the local community has been longing for a shopping precinct full of chain stores anchored by a department store - hopefully Debenhams. Centros Miller claimed demand for just such a development was  the result of their Lancaster street survey but is very much at odds with a much larger survey carried out by Real Planning for Lancaster in 2003. That survey came out strongly against a retail development, and in favour of affordable housing and cultural usage. Where people were in favour of shops, they predominantly expressed a preference for local retailers and businesses. You can read that survey here.

Campaigners against the proposed development argue the survey carried out by Halogen gave people no opportunity in its multiple choice answers to express a preference against a retail development. One participant said afterwards: "Although the questions are fairly inoffensive, I had to tell the interviewer clearly several times that my answers were being misrepresented. For example, when asked what I wanted to see there I answered 'no shops, and if there must be shops then only local ones, and not chains' - this was interpreted as "more choice"(!)"

The results from the mailed out survey Halogen sent to local residents have still not been published.

A recent study of local retail needs commissioned by the Council found in favour of a large retail food store in Lancaster’s city centre rather than a department store (download the PDF). This report has still not (as of July 2006) been discussed in detail by full Council and seems to have been buried. Virtual Lancaster has asked several councillors about the report with little response.

Privatising our City
The City centre currently contains approximately 50,000 sq metres of retail space. Centros Miller proposed to build another 30,000 sq metres of retail space in its development plan. This is a massive 60% increase in a city that is barely managing to fill its current capacity. It is implausible to imagine that tourism and current businesses will not be adversely affected by the development, particularly those at the southern and western sides of the centre as trade is inevitably drawn away toward the new shopping centre. Some of the chain retailers in the current centre have already expressed an interest in moving across if the development comes off. This means that the publicly owned city centre runs a serious risk of desertion and dereliction.

A privately leased Centros Miller centre with its own security force would become the sterile heart of the city. You will see no information stalls, no public gatherings, no jazz bands, no farmers' market, no juveniles coolly parading their goth gear, children scaling the fountain and seniors congregating on the benches and passing commentary, such as we expect in Market Square.

No, it will be 'shop until you drop'.

The lease is to be for 250 years. It is incredible that such a huge concession can be made to a company without even considering the possibility of inviting ideas from any other companies or organisations.

How this could affect Morecambe
It is not only Lancaster that stands to suffer. The Morecambe Master Plan depends on retail development in the West End, particularly the attraction of a retail anchor, such as a Debenhams. Currently dozens of properties have been earmarked for compulsory purchase - their owners trapped in a limbo where they cannot sell, the value of their houses has frozen and those who complain branded 'trouble-makers' by their councillors and MP. The plan seems to be in limbo too. On page 87 of the LCC briefing on the Lancaster development Centros Miller comment: "There should not be over-development in Morecambe, particularly for retail development when opportunities exist in Lancaster which plays a more strategic role'. How do Centros Miller get to be in a position to dictate that the Morecambe Regeneration Master Plan be overthrown?

Housing
The lack of affordable and social housing in Lancaster has also become Morecambe's problem. Vulnerable people who lose out in the fierce competition for rental accommodation in Lancaster are directed by the housing department to their Morecambe office, where they are provided with a list of Morecambe landlords - far from their families, friends and support networks and subject to the predatory element attracted by the vulnerable. No housing association has been given any opportunity to bid for development of the residential component of the Lancaster development.

Accountability
The council has such a history of abuse from its business relationships one wonders if it needs counselling - the Blobby fiasco was one, Bubbles another. Prior to appointing the reputable Urban Splash to renovate the Midland Hotel, the previous council made a development deal on the land with a company that had a history of gun-running, and which, after two years of blagging the local planners, went bankrupt.

The Council still pays a fortune in rent on Lancaster Market – the disastrous result of a past Conservative council that, incredibly, failed to insure the original Victorian market for a sum that would cover its rebuild should it burn down. (It burnt down).
No-one has ever been brought to account for many of these mistakes.

Who will be accountable for the inevitable damage to the city centre? For the traffic chaos that will ensue when local traffic rises by an unimaginable 30%?

We can see where the advantage lies for Centros Miller. We really cannot see what the advantage is for Lancaster. Why are our Council championing this deal without any consideration for any alternatives and against the clearly expressed results of the Real Planning Survey?

Web Links

The Canal Corridor Plans
You can find out more about the current plans for the Canal Corridor on the City Council's web site (PDF documents):
• The Canal Corridor North Brief
• The Canal Corridor South Brief

What do YOU think about the Centros Miller proposal? E-mail us your views at john@virtual-lancaster.net

• Castle View
Centros Miller's web site about Lancaster's Canal Corridor development. As of March 2006, includes everything shown during the company's last round of consultation meetings. They will also add more information to this site as it becomes available – including the minutes of the various workshops the team is having with the various council officers.

• Clone Town Britain (PDF)
The New Economics Foundation's fascinating insight into the way Biritsh cities have all turned into the same place...

• Click here for more on recent development history in Lancaster