Archaeology Consultancy, Commercial, Residential, Tourism and Leisure
We are delighted to announce that Great Yarmouth Borough Council Planning Committee unanimously approved the proposal for a mixed-use redevelopment scheme, designed to transform the existing dilapidated buildings at the Former Pontins Site at Hemsby.
BACKGROUND
The Planning Committee noted and commended this as the best scheme they have ever seen for this site, calling it an exciting and unique opportunity that would help build for Hemby’s future. Simon Henry, the Principal Planning Manager for our Norfolk Planning Consultancy presented the planning application’s merits at this Planning Committee meeting.
PROPOSAL
The former Pontins Holiday Centre site is now derelict and has been out of use for over a decade. This presented a unique opportunity to develop the site to create a sense of place and community where people would be happy to live today and well in the future.
This high-quality mixed use housing and leisure development will make use of the existing redundant buildings where possible, in order to reduce the demolition and waste removal for the site, and to make sustainable use of buildings which are capable of being remodelled. Refurbishment and remodelling of existing building stock is a sustainable form of development and the provision of low cost housing would provide many first time home owners with a cost effective way to get on the housing ladder in their own community.
The proposal will provide 188 new homes, 91 holiday chalet/lodges, a new convenience store, 3 commercial units, an extension and redevelopment of the existing swimming pool to provide a new leisure centre (providing a swimming pool, gym, spa, cafe), surrounded by landscaped areas and open space.
OUR ADVICE
We highlighted that the proposal takes account of all relevant Local Planning Authority and National Planning policies, and it constitutes sustainable development in economic, environmental and social terms. We justified the scheme would represent sustainable development; would contribute to tackling the rural housing crisis; and would finally bring a disused and derelict site bursting with potential, back into use for a mixed use, community-orientated scheme. Overall the redevelopment would remove the current eyesore and re-integrate the site into the heart of Hemsby.
Creating a communal hub in terms of a swimming pool, gym, spa, café, open green space and pedestrian walkway on site will provide significant social benefits, making it an attractive focal point of leisure and recreational activity for residents on site and from the wider area in Hemsby and beyond. This is an ambitious and bold vision for what is a derelict, unused site at present and national planning policy (NPPF) embraces the prospect of bringing previously developed brownfield sites such as this one back into use.
This is a project that also involved our Marketing Team for the public consultation and our Senior Archaeologist and land surveyor providing an Archaeological Desk Based Assessment.
Working alongside Paul Robinson Partnership and Pine Developments, we are proud to have been working with great companies and are very pleased with the outcome of this excellent project.
