Jump to content

Water Mark Vision For City


Gemmel
 Share

Recommended Posts

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7772790.stm

 

 

Developers have submitted plans to build a public plaza on a derelict part of a Hampshire city, creating up to 1,000 new jobs.

Land next to WestQuay shopping centre in Southampton has stood empty since the retail venue opened in 2000.

Now Hammerson, the firm behind Bristol's new Cabot Circus and the Birmingham Bullring, has submitted plans to build Watermark West Quay.

Currently, the land part hosts the city's annual international boat show.

Councillor Royston Smith, Southampton's cabinet member for economic development, said the planning submission meant Southampton was defying the global credit crunch with its £1.7bn city vision makeover.

 

 

"These are exciting times and Southampton will continue to push forward.

"Watermark West Quay is a major part of this vision, the plans detail a new public plaza set against the incredible backdrop of the city's medieval walls. "This proposal also delivers a wide range of fantastic leisure attractions and opportunities."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wasnt when all the talk of Paul Allen there was mention of a huge development on the front with SFC being part of the plans?

 

Or am i just making it up?

 

Without wishing to contaminate the Lounge, with a take over thread, you are correct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry ......couldn't resist

 

Hammerson doing the work - check out the key clients of a certain Paul Allen

 

http://www.davislangdon.com.au/EME/Contacts/People/PaulAllen/

 

How ******* funny would it be if someone put two and two together and came out with 5 and the whole time were talking about the wrong Paul Allen.

 

And whilst im only mucking around, would anybody really be that surpirsed if the wilde, hone and dulieu, really made such a **** up ? LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry ......couldn't resist

 

Hammerson doing the work - check out the key clients of a certain Paul Allen

 

http://www.davislangdon.com.au/EME/Contacts/People/PaulAllen/

 

How ******* funny would it be if someone put two and two together and came out with 5 and the whole time were talking about the wrong Paul Allen.

 

And whilst im only mucking around, would anybody really be that surpirsed if the wilde, hone and dulieu, really made such a **** up ? LOL

 

No, i would not be surprised at all.

Case closed methinks;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no way on God's earth that this will happen... we're at least 5-10 years behind Pompey not just in footballing terms, but also in redevelopment and amenities... plus I don't want to go over old ground but every 3 or 4 months these grand schemes are cooked up and plastered all over The Echo then a couple of months later it's withdrawn. Oh, and our Council is utter ****e.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

our Council is utter ****e.

 

100% agreed. Greedy, backwards, reactionary, never pro-active, never revolutionary, never forward thinking - small minded, illiberal money-pinching fools. I've met a fair few of our councillors on a professional level, and I've only ever had time for two, maximum. Oddly, both were conservatives. Just goes to show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

100% agreed. Greedy, backwards, reactionary, never pro-active, never revolutionary, never forward thinking - small minded, illiberal money-pinching fools. I've met a fair few of our councillors on a professional level, and I've only ever had time for two, maximum. Oddly, both were conservatives. Just goes to show.

 

Absolutely spot-on, without wanting to turn this into a love in.

 

****in' hate 'em.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They ****ing employ me. Makes me sick!

 

Four really good examples:

 

1) The Quays. We could have built a world class olympic standard venue there. Had the room, had the money. Inexplicably, we failed to do so, despite all that potential. Crazy. Just crazy.

2) West Quay retail park instead of better use of the substantial geothermal energy there. We could have been a whole lot greener, and done some interesting things with such an interesting natural resource. But no. We put up some big sheds, going for the quick buck and the nice fat backhander, probably. Morons.

3) Leisure World. Fine, build a bloody great nasty complex, meet the needs of the masses, no matter how nasty I find the place. But WHY give planning permission to build a giant shoe box? It's one of the most horrible structures I've ever seen. Why not make it a bit better? Cost cutting stupidity.

4)Ocean village. Just.. what were they thinking when they built that old one? Why no more development until it died a slow death? And why more and more and more and more and more flats? Hopefully they will bring some positives in the end, but why not develop it with a more holistic approach? As it is, the pitcher and piano area etc is going the sort of right way, but again, so much more could have been done.

 

Southampton is typified mainly by excelling at one thing alone - mediocrity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no way on God's earth that this will happenquote]

 

I'm guessing that to get to the stage where they have submitted plans, they are already in for 1 million plus, if not more. The councillor has backed it and you probably wouldnt invest that sort of money without understanding the lay of the land....as in whether it is likely to get permission or not. Given that it will create 1000 jobs and pump millions into the local economy, in todays climate, i'd be surprised if it didnt get the green light.

Not arguing, but struggling to see what you two are going on about

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't be surprised if it does go. Quietly, at least, it does look as if some slightly more sensible develoment is taking place. While I whinge about the flats, at least a few of them are reasonable, higher value, etc, and in with a shout of providing some genuine fresh impetus to the bottom end of town. What with West Quay and now IKEA, I think we may well see something like it. Whether or not it'll look like the above, or be any good, is a different matter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mate, spot on.

 

don't forget IKEA though... why oh why put it THERE?

 

Primarily because ABP wouldn't let them put it where the council and IKEA wanted it. IKEA wanted to use a site in Millbrook, near dock gate 20, and this was backed by the council but the port authority opposed it because of the traffic problems it would create around the docks. So instead it was built in the middle of town. This will create more traffic but will have less impact on the docks and therefore ABP!

 

It is much the same reason that a lot of waterfront developments don't get off the ground. ABP can be difficult to work with and unlike the navy in Portsmouth are not particularly accomodating of the interests of the city as a whole. Unfortunately they also happen to be one of the largest contributors to the local economy and therefore their support and contribution is crucial to the city.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hope this does get off the ground and goes ahead, this city needs for at least one of the plans to move on, and then we can show it's possible for these things to happen in Southampton and hopefully it would get the ball rolling for the other planned developments.

I've seen that 3d map in the library and some of the ideas seem a bit much but if most of them happen would transform the centre of Soton for the better. the even want to put a shell thing over the train station, odd but cool!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This would be good for the city and would give a bit of balance alongside the white elephant that has been West Quay. Perhaps now all of the post-war concrete (which was only ever supposed to be temporary) can be demolished asap from where McDonalds was right up to the old Tyrell & Green site and the stores relocated in a more open plan format with proper arts facilities and scope fro some new ideas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This would be good for the city and would give a bit of balance alongside the white elephant that has been West Quay. Perhaps now all of the post-war concrete (which was only ever supposed to be temporary) can be demolished asap from where McDonalds was right up to the old Tyrell & Green site and the stores relocated in a more open plan format with proper arts facilities and scope fro some new ideas.

 

one thing that really needs doing is opening out onto the parks at the back, ie with new buildings opening out both onto Above Bar and the parks.

 

A citu centre circular tram route would be ace too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

one thing that really needs doing is opening out onto the parks at the back, ie with new buildings opening out both onto Above Bar and the parks.

 

A citu centre circular tram route would be ace too.

 

Totally agree, the parks have decayed with the rest of the city and opening the shopping up to them would revive both. The monorail project in the 1980s should have been followed through, Southampton suffers a "traffic heart attack" on a daily basis and even catches you if you are heading West for a meeting on the A27. I use the A272 to go north now until SCC and the neighbouring local authorities forget their inbred, carrot-crunching rivalries and actually take proper measures to un-block the Western M27 corridor for everyone's benefit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seriously, if spending 1.7bn on the city, surely an extra 20m to have the football club in the premiership is peanuts? Would boost the whole city. Pleeeeeeease?

 

indeed.....i would love it if those in southampton campiagned for the council to buy SMS and donate it back to the club....this would be one of the best things the council could ever do...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...