Friday
19
April
New plans submitted for riverside development
24/09/2019 @ 10:16
Plans for a destination £1.5 million “destination riverside recreational hub” at the former Radio Hafren building in Newtown have been altered.
It follows concerns raised by businesses in Newtown about the size of a commercial cafe being planned at the facility.
Amended plans have been submitted to Powys County Council this month to replace ones that Open Newtown had put forward in July.
The plan for a big cafe as part of the proposal has been scaled down.
Complaints had been made by businesses that this would take customers away from the town centre.
This had also meant that local member, Cllr Joy Jones (non-aligned – Newtown East), had asked for the application to be decided by the planning committee.
The new plans now see a seating area outside the building described as a “Picnic Terrace” rather than being directly associated with the cafe. The official number of seats is down from 178 to 25.
Planning and development consultants Asbri, who are the agents for Open Newtown, said that the Chamber of Trade in Newtown had objected to the original plans, and they “acknowledged and appreciated” that.
Cardiff-based Asbri said: “It is acknowledged that the originally submitted drawings were somewhat misrepresentative of the proposed development in respect of the cafe. They showed an excess of café seating.”
They add in a new Design Access Statement: “The aim is to build a riverside destination playpark alongside a low energy designed two-storey venue, housing tourist information provision, meeting and event space, canoe and cycle hire alongside community cafe space, to accommodate buggies, bikes and dog walkers.
“We are aware of concerns that local cafes may be adversely affected.
“With the venue offering an additional facility to the town centre and with the capacity to attract new users to the town centre we feel this is unlikely, however we have amended the plans to reflect these concerns.”
In January this year, Open Newtown, received tenure of around 130 acres of land from Powys County Council to be held in a community land trust for 99 years.
The deal saw PCC hand over the lease to Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council who sub-contracted the land over to Open Newtown.
In 2018, Open Newtown received £1.1 million from the Big Lottery for the land transfer.
It follows concerns raised by businesses in Newtown about the size of a commercial cafe being planned at the facility.
Amended plans have been submitted to Powys County Council this month to replace ones that Open Newtown had put forward in July.The plan for a big cafe as part of the proposal has been scaled down.
Complaints had been made by businesses that this would take customers away from the town centre.
This had also meant that local member, Cllr Joy Jones (non-aligned – Newtown East), had asked for the application to be decided by the planning committee.
The new plans now see a seating area outside the building described as a “Picnic Terrace” rather than being directly associated with the cafe. The official number of seats is down from 178 to 25.
Planning and development consultants Asbri, who are the agents for Open Newtown, said that the Chamber of Trade in Newtown had objected to the original plans, and they “acknowledged and appreciated” that.
Cardiff-based Asbri said: “It is acknowledged that the originally submitted drawings were somewhat misrepresentative of the proposed development in respect of the cafe. They showed an excess of café seating.”
They add in a new Design Access Statement: “The aim is to build a riverside destination playpark alongside a low energy designed two-storey venue, housing tourist information provision, meeting and event space, canoe and cycle hire alongside community cafe space, to accommodate buggies, bikes and dog walkers.
“We are aware of concerns that local cafes may be adversely affected.
“With the venue offering an additional facility to the town centre and with the capacity to attract new users to the town centre we feel this is unlikely, however we have amended the plans to reflect these concerns.”
In January this year, Open Newtown, received tenure of around 130 acres of land from Powys County Council to be held in a community land trust for 99 years.
The deal saw PCC hand over the lease to Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council who sub-contracted the land over to Open Newtown.
In 2018, Open Newtown received £1.1 million from the Big Lottery for the land transfer.
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service
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