Background Report: What are all these plans Chelverton have for Lancaster?

See a map of the affected area
See an aerial photograph of the affected area

CR Chelverton and Carillion have plans to build a Superstore on Back Caton Road, something they call "big box retail units" and "large format retail outlets" between the canal, Leonardsgate and Moor Lane (the Canal Corridor North), with a link road between the sites and continuing up to the top of town. This is expected to cost in the region of £44million. This information has come out from their meeting with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, the meeting on the 21.11.02 chaired by Hilton Dawson and personal conversations with Simon Morgan of Chelverton. Morgan refuses to be drawn on the details of his plans for Lancaster. Instead repeatedly stating that locals' concerns are "premature", and "irrelevant", going so far as to say: "they don't know what those concerns are about." Developers have used this tactic before to disguise the extent of plans when they are concerned that public opinion is against them, or that other developers may be interested in the same site.

According to Carillion-Chelverton they own the Crown Inn, Earnshaws, Falcon Motors and the Nether Lune Works. They have options on Mitchells brewery site, the Spiritualist Church and Sowerby's garage. Having an option means they have the right to buy the land in the future. Except for Mitchell's, all this land is in the area of the Back Caton Road / Leonardsgate junction. The council owns the car parks along the canal. Macari's own the Ice Cream van compound on the edge of Leonardsgate / Alfred St. Sunlight Laundry are unwilling to relocate without a suitable property being offered as part of any deal.

The Superstore and "Big Box Retail Units"
Carillion-Chelverton wants to build a 63,000sq ft superstore on Back Caton Rd, on the site of the laundry and the Texaco garage with under-store car parking provision for approx. 420 short stay spaces. Morgan has stated that he feels that "choice is limited in Lancaster compared to other cities of similar size". He is arguing that local supermarkets are already trading to capacity and therefore cannot service any more consumers. Another supermarket would draw new custom but at the expense of small businesses locally, as well as competing with existing superstores. He has so far refused to reveal the supermarket chain involved, but has said that there is a gap in the market for high quality food retailing, adding that this means higher quality than Sainsbury's. Sources close to Carillion have indicated that Tesco are currently involved in negotiations.

It is feared that a new supermarket will have a huge impact on the local retailers. A study financed by the supermarkets themselves concluded that every time a large supermarket opens, on average, 276 jobs are lost (1). Carillion-Chelverton's plans however, envisage not only a large superstore, but also what Morgan calls "Big Box Retail Units". According to Morgan these units are designed for "large space users - part of the evolution of retailing away from small scale units". From this it is clear that small, local retailers have no place in this development. Supermarkets and 'large format' retailers consolidate their market position by putting small retailers out of business: 44,000 food shops in the UK, mainly small grocers, closed between 1976 and 1989 (2). A job that is lost at an independent store, can't be simply replaced by a job at a large retailer: retail chains benefit from economies of scale and computerisation, and need less employees per product sold - that means less jobs, and less secure jobs in the retail sector in Lancaster. Not only Lancaster will suffer, but also Morecambe and Carnforth - recent studies have shown that large retailers have a negative net effect on retail employment up to 15km away (3).

The development area is very large - almost as large as the current pedestrianised town centre. Combined with job losses and local retailers going out of business, we will see Lancaster's town centre moving eastward to this new area. The historic town centre will be as derelict and empty as the Multiplex cinema on Church St.

When considering the economic impact of Carillion-Chelverton's plans it is also important to consider the 15,700sq ft of retail development included in the Liberty/Crosby development due to be built on the Kingsway site.

Carillion-Chelverton are talking about "mixed development" on the Leonardsgate/Moor Ln/Canal triangle. It is generally believed that they say this so that at least some of their plans fit into the Local Plan. The Local Plan is drawn up by the City Council in consultation with residents - the current plan calls for a Cultural Quarter in that area. By talking about mixed development, Carillion-Chelverton may hope to persuade the City Council to accept their proposals. Carillion-Chelverton have issued statements saying that they intend to incorporate "the Grand Theatre, and if at all possible, the Musician's Co-op and the Dukes Playhouse", but are making no promises. They do not mention other threatened businesses and services, such as the Homeless Action Centre, the Dance Studios and the small business units occupied by a local garage and pet food shop. They have mentioned that the "mixed development" in this area may incorporate flats. However judging by the prices of other flats built recently or currently being built (Crosby behind the town hall, the development on the old Moor Hospital and the flats by the Millennium bridge and on St George's Quay), the majority of these flats will be unaffordable for local people. One wonders who the high priced flats and high quality superstore are being built for.

The Road
According to Morgan, the canal road is "the key to how this area of land is going to be developed". The reason Carillion-Chelverton want to build a road is because they are obliged to come up with solutions for the congestion a development like this will inevitably cause. They have also repeatedly stated that the road will bring shoppers (in their cars) to their superstore. According to Morgan "this area of land is difficult to access from the existing infrastructure." This is despite the fact that the development is less than 200yards from the bus station and surrounded by roads. Nevertheless, indications from Carillion are that a superstore may be built even if the company is unable to realise their plans for a road and Big Box retail units in the Canal Corridor North area.

The Route The proposed road will run from Back Caton Rd, through the old Crown Pub and Macari's ice-cream compound, along Edward St and Bulk St car parks and behind the Crosby Homes building site. From speaking to Simon Morgan, one of CR Chelverton's directors, we gather that they are unsure whether they want to build the road as far as Quarry Rd, or up to Penny Bridge. If they want to build the road up to Penny St that will have to be negotiated with Crowther Homes who are developing the old Navigation site.

Congestion Simon Morgan claims that "issues of congestion are causing economic problems to the city. The new road will ease the city centre pressure and radically improve the situation by taking away an enormous amount of traffic." There is no doubt that congestion is causing economic and human problems in Lancaster, but building a new road will create more congestion. Apart from the fact that traffic experts are virtually unanimous that new roads cause new traffic - and new congestion (this is an accepted part of government policy guidance (4)), this particular road is badly thought out. It runs more or less along the route of the Eastern Relief Rd, which was finally laid to rest just a few years ago after a public inquiry found against it. One major problem with the road is that, regardless of whether it ends up on Penny St or Quarry Rd, it will be feeding new traffic into the one way system. As we see every time a set of traffic lights fail, or a lorry breaks down, any jam in one part of the one-way system causes the whole of the town centre to lock-up. Feeding a big new road into the one-way system at any point will bring the whole town to a standstill.
Large retailers' deliveries operate on a 'just in time' principle, meaning that deliveries are made as and when needed. This means in practice that a huge lorry may deliver just a palette of milk or bread, with other lorries delivering small quantities again later in the day. Obviously this means more lorry journeys than delivering a full lorry load of goods in one go, so we can expect to see a lot more lorries in the town centre.

Another aspect of the development is the knock-on effect in Morecambe. If Morecambe's retailers close down that will mean people will have to make shopping trips to Lancaster. That also means more congestion on Morecambe Rd, the Lune bridges and the Lancaster one-way system.

Dividing the City: A road along the canal will go past people's front doors, and cut Ridge, Newton, parts of Bulk, Freehold, Moorlands and Primrose off from the city centre. Carillion-Chelverton claim that they will ensure that the road will be 'permeable', but as any pedestrian who comes into the city centre knows, pedestrian crossings are not perfect. Those unable to walk fast, those with prams and wheelchairs will also be aware of the extra hazards and stress that crossing busy roads bring.

With increased traffic and congestion comes noise and air pollution and smog. The canal is one of the places which make Lancaster a pleasant place to live and visit. If the canal is to become a noisy and smelly place, who will want to spend time there?

The road will be built to bring car drivers to the superstore, so it probably won't be easy to get to on foot or bike. The new junction that they will have to build on Caton Rd/Kingsway means that people wanting to get to the Green Ayre/Skerton Bridge area will have to get across a major road junction.

Who are CR Chelverton anyway?
CR Chelverton Ltd was a partnership between Richardsons Developments (developers of big industrial estates and large modern buildings occupied by large multinational firms), Chelverton (which has since gone bankrupt) and Carillion (who used to be called Tarmac), a major construction company which has been involved in such controversial building schemes as the Newbury Bypass, Manchester Airport expansion and the Birmingham North Relief Rd (Britain's first toll motorway). Carillion have bought out Chelverton's shares in the partnership, but Simon Morgan still appears to be dealing with the Lancaster project for the time being. Chelverton has been involved in Lancaster before - we can get a good idea of the kind of development they prefer by having a look at the Comet-Currys-Halfords retail "park" on Parliament Street, which they built and subsequently sold.

Who else is interested in the site?
The size of the Carillion-Chelverton's proposals means that they will affect anyone who lives in Lancaster, travels through Lancaster, or shops anywhere in the district. A group of local residents have formed "Real Planning for Lancaster" and are developing a plan for the area based on community consultation.

Where does the Council and the Government stand on all of this?
Lancaster City Council has prepared a development brief for the area in the District Local Plan. The proposals for the area ("Canal Corridor North"), drawn up after some consultation, have been very well received. They envisage a Brewery Quarter with mixed use (light commercial, affordable housing and development building on the present cultural elements). The Local Plan Development Brief specifically identifies several threats to the area which seem very relevant to Carillion-Chelverton's proposals:

• "The danger of a pattern of development or roads which is excessively car dominated and exacerbates the degree of separation between the Freehold area and the City Centre;
• "The danger of excessive, unsuitable or unjustified commercial or retail development which could have a detrimental effect on Lancaster City Centre;
• "The danger of designs which are out of character with the intimate and varied frontages of Moor Lane and St Leonardsgate;
• "The danger of a development of uniform character or use which lacks variety and vitality;
• "The danger of losing the area's cultural assets;
• "The danger of losing the opportunity to improve pedestrian links."

Summary
Carillion-Chelverton's proposals will bring more noise and air pollution and congestion to the town centre, cause an economic depression among local retailers up to 15km away, worsening unemployment, and cause the focus of the town centre to shift to the other side of Stonewell (something Simon Morgan has openly admitted). It is likely that the existing town centres in Lancaster and Morecambe will become derelict, restricting choice for shoppers to the new, 'high-quality' Superstore and 'Big Box' retailers. It is unlikely that much of the housing built on the site will be affordable for local residents.

Local councillors have the power to see this development off, but there is concern among local residents that they may accept the proposals, given the large amounts of money Carillion-Chelverton are talking about, and despite the commitment from full council not to sell the Canal Corridor North land for big box or supermarket retailing or for a new road.

There is also doubt about Chelverton's ability to see the scheme through to completion - they have already lost the contract for the Kingsway development, and the liquidation of Chelverton Group has caused questioning of the ability of Simon Morgan - himself a director of Chelverton - to manage large projects.

Notes

1. Porter and Raistrick: The Impact of Out-of-Centre Food Superstores on Local Retail Employment, The National Retail Planning Forum, Nottingham, 1998.

2. Business Statistics Office, in Henson, S: 'From High Street to Hypermarket.' NCC, London, 1992

3. Porter and Raistrick: The Impact of Out-of-Centre Food Superstores on Local Retail Employment, The National Retail Planning Forum, Nottingham, 1998.

4. Govt White Paper on the Future of Transport, 1998

5. Lancaster District Local Plan Development Brief No. 8, 2001