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Selly Oak ..


Josher

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Handy for the shopping ... the developer's web site does ask for a vote on the proposals prior to the application going in.

 

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Sainsbury's reveals plan for new Selly Oak supermarket Oct 7 2011 Birmingham Post

 

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has unveiled plans for its new Selly Oak development. Proposals for the former Battery site include a big store, 20 shops, cafes, restaurants, bars offices, student housing, two hotels and a petrol station. It will feature a waterfront square on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, which the company says will re-establish Selly Oak as an attractive destination. The 13 hectare development is also expected to create 3,000 jobs for the area. The site has been earmarked for redevelopment for the last four years and following the completion of Selly Oak New Road the company is ready to begin construction on the store, designed to replace the existing Selly Oak branch. A planning application will be submitted shortly following a public consultation.

 

Neil Carron, project director with developers Land Securities, said: ”These are exciting plans that will make a real difference to Selly Oak. They will not only see the land reclaimed and redeveloped into a vibrant destination but also create 3,000 much-needed jobs.” Both Sainsbury’s and Land Securities have agreed to clean up the former Battery industrial site and make improvements to access from Selly Park and revitalise Bournbrook Park.

 

Two years ago Sainsbury’s sparked fury when it demolished the historic 1871 Battery and Metals Building on the site because it had become “unsafe”. This was despite a pledge to retain it in the redevelopment.

 

The plans are currently available online at www.sellyoak-regeneration.co.uk Here.

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What happened to the end of the Dudley canal they were going to include?

 

Richard

 

It's turned itself into a pedestrian route. I read about it somewhere over the last few days and people aren't happy.

 

Edited to add: http://www.lapal.org/Selly-Oak-Latest-News.html Not a lot of information though.

Edited by IanM
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Never is a long time. :closedeyes:

 

The canal's route across the site appears to remain open, though admittedly it would cost far more to reinstate the canal once the site has been developed.

 

 

You are right it is still open, perhaps building over it would be a step too for for them to get planning consent. Looking at the plans the "pedestrian greenway" is a line of the canal, but hard to see restoration after this is built. Somehow I find their statement

In addition, a 'green corridor' with water features will run east to west connecting Bristol Road's new canal waterfront with Harborne Lane and Selly Oak Park.

a little cynical given this is on the canal line. A canal would be a much better water feature.

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We still have a chance to comment on this, below is what I received from Peter Best Chairman of the Lapal Canal Trust

 

 

 

Dear Colleagues, Friends and Supporters,

 

I am grateful to you for showing such concern towards the diminished

prospects for the Lapal Canal (Dudley No 2) in the recently published

Regeneration Plan for Selly Oak from Sainsbury’s and their partners; Land

Securities. Some of you attended the Selly Oak/ Edgbaston Consultative

Committee last Tuesday whilst others, equally importantly, stayed away so we

did not appear to be too “mob-handed” in these early days of their public

consultation.

 

I am delighted to report that almost all Questions from the floor, after

Land Securities had made their presentation, were about the omission of a

canal along the alignment which they wish to call their pedestrian greenway!

I shall presume that it was this concentration of questions on just one

issue, which led Land Securities to agree to a subsequent meeting with a

representative group of canal restoration personnel.

 

Meanwhile, as we prepare for that meeting and select appropriate personnel

from our midst (still not wishing to go “mob-handed” yet!), may I request an

interim action?

 

Would you kindly send an email to your “ordinary members” inviting them to

visit the Selly Oak Regeneration Web Site;

http://sellyoak-regeneration.co.uk/

 

They should select the Second response option (“I/we support SOME of the

proposal”) [my emphasis] because there are undoubtedly some innovations

elsewhere in this major Plan!

 

Then, in the free-form “COMMENTS” box, they should write a simple sentence

such as;

 

I/we request a full Lapal Canal, as in the previously agreed Plan, not just

a pedestrian greenway.

 

 

That done, such members might then wish to forward the email to their

friends and then their friend’s friends .......

 

With best wishes

 

Peter Best

 

Chairman : Lapal Canal Trust

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We still have a chance to comment on this, below is what I received from Peter Best Chairman of the Lapal Canal Trust

[snip]

visit the Selly Oak Regeneration Web Site;

http://sellyoak-regeneration.co.uk/

They should select the Second response option (“I/we support SOME of the

proposal”) [my emphasis] because there are undoubtedly some innovations

elsewhere in this major Plan!

Then, in the free-form “COMMENTS” box, they should write a simple sentence

such as;

I request a full Lapal Canal, as in the previously agreed Plan, not just

a pedestrian greenway.

 

Done!

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We still have a chance to comment on this, below is what I received from Peter Best Chairman of the Lapal Canal Trust

 

 

 

Dear Colleagues, Friends and Supporters,

 

I am grateful to you for showing such concern towards the diminished

prospects for the Lapal Canal (Dudley No 2) in the recently published

Regeneration Plan for Selly Oak from Sainsbury’s and their partners; Land

Securities. Some of you attended the Selly Oak/ Edgbaston Consultative

Committee last Tuesday whilst others, equally importantly, stayed away so we

did not appear to be too “mob-handed” in these early days of their public

consultation.

 

I am delighted to report that almost all Questions from the floor, after

Land Securities had made their presentation, were about the omission of a

canal along the alignment which they wish to call their pedestrian greenway!

I shall presume that it was this concentration of questions on just one

issue, which led Land Securities to agree to a subsequent meeting with a

representative group of canal restoration personnel.

 

Meanwhile, as we prepare for that meeting and select appropriate personnel

from our midst (still not wishing to go “mob-handed” yet!), may I request an

interim action?

 

Would you kindly send an email to your “ordinary members” inviting them to

visit the Selly Oak Regeneration Web Site;

http://sellyoak-regeneration.co.uk/

 

They should select the Second response option (“I/we support SOME of the

proposal”) [my emphasis] because there are undoubtedly some innovations

elsewhere in this major Plan!

 

Then, in the free-form “COMMENTS” box, they should write a simple sentence

such as;

 

I/we request a full Lapal Canal, as in the previously agreed Plan, not just

a pedestrian greenway.

 

 

That done, such members might then wish to forward the email to their

friends and then their friend’s friends .......

 

With best wishes

 

Peter Best

 

Chairman : Lapal Canal Trust

 

Done

 

Can we not do something like?

 

start a e-petition on the government site?

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions

 

Or send emails to planning Birmingham council objecting

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The planning application has not gone in yet. We hope that if there is enough public uproar the plans may get improved before they are submitted. So as many comments as possible on the proposals via their website would be useful. I went to the public exhibition last week and the plans (and attitude of developer) were not very water-friendly.

Even if the full restoration takes a long time-our even never happens-the spur would be invaluable in linking to proposed mooring which is in short supply locally. It would also make a far more attractive and useful water feature than a ditch covered w bridges! Their argument is about the viability of the canal element-they say it makes the scheme unviable. However, no real evidence is yet existing for that.

The canal trust and others are meeting the developers soon. In the meantime, please comment. It would be good in my view if the scheme in some form went ahead-the sure had been derelict too long. But that development shouldn't sterilise an important heritage asset and damage potential for future devt of the canal corridor.

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Was it not incorporated into the 'local plan'? Doesn't that oblige developers to make allowances for it...?

Yes, and mentioned a few time too. "The design, including levels should allow for re-opening of

the former Lapal Canal and a pedestrian/cycle route

between Selly Oak Park and the Birmingham BatterySite."

8.32 The Worcester & Birmingham Canal should be used as

a focus to help generate activity. The development

potential of land alongside the canal should be recognised,

where this does not adversly affect its landscape quality

and openess. Development should front the canal and

enhance it as a wildlife and recreational resource. Access

should be improved for pedestrians, cyclists and canal-boat

navigation, and the introduction of visitor moorings and

information panels will be encouraged. In particular, new

pedestrian accesses should be created at Bristol Road,

Selly Oak hospital and the Birmingham University. There is

an opportunity to open up the canal using creative lighting

and public art features. Further design guidance on

development alongside canals is set out in the “Canalside

development in Birmingham” Design Guide (draft SPG).

8.33 The value and feasibility of re-opening the former

Dudley No. 2 Canal between Selly Oak, the City boundary

and beyond should be further explored. In particular,

adjacent development should restore that part of the canal

adjacent to the Birmingham Battery site (between the

Worcester and Birmingham Canal and Selly Oak Park). link Pdf sellyoak lap1002 <http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Development-Planning%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092558783&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper>

Edited by dudermanstan
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Land Securities (Profit before tax £1,227.3m up 14.8% Here) and J Sainsbury (Underlying operating profit £738m up 10.0% Here) should be thouroughly ashamed of themselves!

 

To undertake a scheme of this magnitude and state that "sufficient space will be allocated ... so as not to prevent a canal reinstatement to take place along this route in the future" is truly cynical. There will never be a better opportunity to restore the canal and the "extra/over" cost of doing it as part of this redevelopment will be so small that it would be difficult to measure (and just how co-operative would they be if someone did want to undertake the restoration when they are up and trading?). At least they did not plead poverty!

 

Both organisations will have social, ethical and environmental policies coming out of their ears, but when they can truly make a difference, but spot an opportunity to pull a fast one on the community, then they take it!

 

In my opening post I said it would be handy for the shopping - I have changed my mind, as they are now crossed off my list.

 

Sainsbury's accused of u-turn over pledge to improve Birmingham canal Oct 20 2011 Birmingham Post

 

canal-at-selly-oak-near-the-site-of.jpg

Canal at Selly Oak near the site of a proposed Sainsbury's supermarket

 

A conservation group has accused supermarket giant Sainsbury’s of reneging on a deal to restore a section of a Birmingham canal as part of a huge development plan in the city. Roy Burgess, chairman of the The Hales Owen Abbey Trust, claimed the store chain was trying to backtrack on an arrangement to improve a stretch of the Dudley No.2 Canal, known as the Lapal Canal. He said the deal was contained in the original planning consent granted to the firm for its Selly Oak development five years ago. Proposals for the former Battery and Medals site include a major store, 20 shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, offices, student housing, two hotels and a petrol station. But a Sainsbury’s spokeswoman confirmed the latest plan did not contain proposals for the restoration of the Lapal Canal.

 

Mr Burgess said: “The announcement by Sainsbury’s that it was to abandon its previous commitment to fully restore that section of canal is a disappointment. The planning gain achieved by the canal restoration was a factor in that approval and neither Sainsbury’s nor Birmingham City Council should renege upon the public expectations arising from the original plan.” Mr Burgess said the restoration of the five-and-a-half mile Lapal Canal was of “vital importance” in terms of leisure, recreation and economic growth and the restored stretch of waterway would be a “national asset”.

 

The Dudley No.2 Canal was opened in 1798 and was built to join the Dudley Canal with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. The main line was nearly 11 miles long but it proved expensive to maintain and the Lapal Tunnel – Britain’s fourth-longest canal tunnel – was dogged by a series of roof collapses, the last of which happened in 1917. The approaches on either side of the tunnel became increasingly under-used and were decommissioned in 1953, leaving only the western half of the canal in use today. The Lapal Canal Trust is working towards the restoration of the decommissioned half of the canal and is being supported by The Hales Owen Abbey Trust. Mr Burgess said the changes to the Sainsbury’s scheme meant money had been wasted on a new canal bridge built below Selly Oak’s recently-opened bypass. “Millions of pounds of public money has recently been spent on the new Selly Oak bypass, which will provide logistical support to the new store,” he said. “The bypass includes a new canal bridge constructed in readiness for the Lapal Canal/Sainsbury’s scheme. Taking into account that major public investment and effort, where is the sense and planning gain if the approved Sainsbury’s scheme, including restoration of a strategically important section, is not fully implemented? The scheme cannot be considered in isolation,’’ Mr Burgess added. ‘‘The restoration of the five-and-a-half-mile derelict canal is of vital importance in terms of leisure, recreation and economic growth, not only to Birmingham but also to neighbouring districts. It will be a national asset.”

 

The Sainsbury scheme will also feature a waterfront on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, which the company said would re-establish Selly Oak as an attractive destination. The site has been earmarked for redevelopment for the last four years and, following the completion of Selly Oak New Road the company is ready to begin construction on the store, designed to replace the existing Selly Oak branch.

 

Developer Land Securities has teamed up with Sainsbury’s on the project and a new planning application will be submitted after consultation. Sainsbury’s said: “Following on from our public exhibition held on September 30 and October 1, a meeting has been held with the Lapal Canal Trust to reaffirm that, while the current scheme does not include the restoration of the Lapal Canal, sufficient space will be allocated along a proposed pedestrian ‘greenway’ running from the Birmingham and Worcester canal through to Selly Oak Park so as not to prevent a canal reinstatement to take place along this route in the future. “In the meantime, our latest plans do include the enhancement of the existing canal where it is proposed that a canal-side square with restaurants and cafes be created with direct public access from Bristol Road, much to the benefit of the local community. “The regeneration of a 13-hectare site to deliver 3,000 job opportunities is unique in the economic climate. In bringing forward this revised proposal we have rightly had to take into consideration the viability and deliverability of the project, along with what we think will make the most positive difference to Selly Oak residents. We still welcome feedback on the plans from the local community.’’

 

*The plans are online at www.sellyoak-regeneration.co.uk Here

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You'd think they would welcome extra canal frontage - space for shop moorings and something to draw more visitors in. Surely it costs very little in the scheme of things to dig a ditch and put in a footbridge or two?! Not like they need to build any locks is it? :rolleyes:

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If this happened in the heritage railway sector, then enthusiasts up and down the country would dip in their pockets and fund the reinstatement themselves. I'm disheartened by canal people who, with few exceptions (Lichfield/Hatherton aquaduct & tunnel), are pleased to use the restored facility but think someone else should do all the paying....

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Does the Lapal Canal Trust not raise funds somehow then? I thought most restoration groups did. I guess if Sainsburys said they were going to do it as part of the original planning application you can understand the frustration when they go back on this.

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Does the Lapal Canal Trust not raise funds somehow then? I thought most restoration groups did. I guess if Sainsburys said they were going to do it as part of the original planning application you can understand the frustration when they go back on this.

 

If they're anything like the canal society I was a committee member of they will barely raise enough to cover their administration overheads.

 

I can understand the frustration but am not on bit surprised by the developers backtracking. It's par for the course on this type of development, now that they have the planning consent.

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Yes there is a small development in Wantage that was to incorporate a couple of nice Georgian shops into a row of new units. They got planning permission, but now want to demolish the old buildings! It's suspected this was the plan all along - Bxxxxxds! :angry:

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We still have a chance to comment on this, below is what I received from Peter Best Chairman of the Lapal Canal Trust

 

 

 

Dear Colleagues, Friends and Supporters,

 

I am grateful to you for showing such concern towards the diminished

prospects for the Lapal Canal (Dudley No 2) in the recently published

Regeneration Plan for Selly Oak from Sainsbury’s and their partners; Land

Securities. Some of you attended the Selly Oak/ Edgbaston Consultative

Committee last Tuesday whilst others, equally importantly, stayed away so we

did not appear to be too “mob-handed” in these early days of their public

consultation.

 

I am delighted to report that almost all Questions from the floor, after

Land Securities had made their presentation, were about the omission of a

canal along the alignment which they wish to call their pedestrian greenway!

I shall presume that it was this concentration of questions on just one

issue, which led Land Securities to agree to a subsequent meeting with a

representative group of canal restoration personnel.

 

Meanwhile, as we prepare for that meeting and select appropriate personnel

from our midst (still not wishing to go “mob-handed” yet!), may I request an

interim action?

 

Would you kindly send an email to your “ordinary members” inviting them to

visit the Selly Oak Regeneration Web Site;

http://sellyoak-regeneration.co.uk/

 

They should select the Second response option (“I/we support SOME of the

proposal”) [my emphasis] because there are undoubtedly some innovations

elsewhere in this major Plan!

 

Then, in the free-form “COMMENTS” box, they should write a simple sentence

such as;

 

I/we request a full Lapal Canal, as in the previously agreed Plan, not just

a pedestrian greenway.

 

 

That done, such members might then wish to forward the email to their

friends and then their friend’s friends .......

 

With best wishes

 

Peter Best

 

Chairman : Lapal Canal Trust

Done-but we need more responses

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  • 1 month later...

Latest

 

Lapal campaigners celebrate concession

 

 

 

 

 

The Lapal Canal Trust is celebrating after appearing to gain a concession from developers to incorporate a section of the canal in its plans for a huge new supermarket development at Selly Oak.

 

 

 

 

Last month it was reported that the developers, Land Securities, and their partners Sainsbury's, had backtracked on an offer to restore a section of the waterway from the junction with the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, where it runs past the proposed new store.

 

 

 

 

The replacement plans unveiled in September unleashed a storm of protest when it was discovered that the proposed 'canalside' stretch had been reduced to a narrow pedestrian 'greenway' strip. The developers had blamed the poor economic outlook for scaling back the ambition to restore the canal section.

 

 

 

 

Lapal Canal Trust Chairman Peter Best had urged cautious optimism, because he said that apart from ignoring the canal line, there were 'undoubted innovations' in the revised plan.

 

 

 

 

His gentle line seems to have paid off. On 22nd November he announced that "the [selly Oak] Partnership now intends to submit for outline planning consent a plan which includes a length of Lapal Canal across the site instead of the greenway. Unless some unforseen issues arise, they intend to implement that Plan at their expense."

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 22 November | Andrew Denny | 2.48pm, Tuesday 22 November 2011

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  • 3 months later...

Latest ...

 

Selly Oak Canalside store plans unveiled Birmingham Mail Mar 12 2012

 

SUPERSTORE giant Sainsbury has drawn up fresh plans for a city store which includes the restoration of a historic canal.

 

A revised planning application for the development of the former Battery Park site in Selly Oak has been submitted to the city council. The derelict acre site will get a new major superstore, doctors surgery, offices, a shopping and entertainment complex with restaurants and bars, student flats, a canalside piazza and a low energy combined heat and power generator. About 3,000 jobs will be created through the development.

 

Plans were revised following consultation with residents during the autumn and will be put on show next weekend. Neil Carron, of Land Securities, Sainsbury’s partner on the development, said: “Thanks to the initial consultation we have been able to identify aspects of the plans that needed to be reviewed. This has resulted in a revised proposal which will transform Selly Oak into a vibrant destination, while also creating 3,000 much needed jobs.” Development manager for Sainsbury’s Kevin Macmillan added: ”The public exhibition is a chance for the local community to see the revised plans. So we strongly urge residents to come along and view the proposals and see for themselves the considerable benefits this development will bring to Selly Oak.”

 

Changes include a new road layout, a canal link revising the historic Lapal Canal route, improvements to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal basin, fewer shops and more places to eat and drink, environmental improvements and a new doctor’s surgery. There will also be some spin-off investment in Bournbrook Recreation Ground and Selly Oak Library.

 

The full proposals will be unveiled at a public exhibition at the Christian Life Centre on Bristol Road on Friday, March 16, between 2pm and 7pm and on Saturday, March 17, between 10am and 1.30pm.

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