St Modwen confirms an end to Long Marston eco town proposals
Jul 9 2010 by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post
Regeneration firm St Modwen has conceded defeat on plans to build an eco town in the Warwickshire countryside.
The Birmingham company has confirmed it no longer plans to create an eco town on land at Middle Quinton, near Long Marston, after the new Government said it would not impose such developments on communities which did not want them.
It will now focus on its consented proposals for the £100 million Long Marston Masterplan, a leisure-led, mixed use scheme on the former MOD site, which will feature up to 500 new homes and 300 holiday homes.
The announcement came after the Longbridge developer posted a pre-tax profit of £26.7 million for the six months up to May 31, compared to a loss of nearly £100 million in the same period last year.
Regional director John Dodds said: “With the new coalition government in place, the Department for Communities and Local Government has recently outlined its plans to return decision making powers to local authorities on housing and planning matters.
“Following close liaison with Stratford on Avon District Council and landowners the Bird Group, we have made the decision to drop our eco town submission.
“We are naturally disappointed that these plans will not be implemented; however we were always acutely aware that a change in Government would lead to a lack of support for eco towns. Now we are looking positively to the future focused solely on moving forward with the Long Marston Masterplan.”
Plans for the eco town resulted in controversy around the site, and a group called Bard – Better Accessible Responsible Development – was established to protest against the proposals.
St Modwen received the green light for its masterplan proposals – which were completely distinct to the eco town plans – from Stratford on Avon District Council in February 2010.
The plans secure the future for businesses located within the 80,000 sq m of existing employment space on site, safeguarding hundreds of jobs.
An outdoor activity centre and caravan park form part of the Long Marston Masterplan, together with football and cricket pitches and a rail heritage centre. It is envisaged that the provision of new homes in the area will be boosted with 500 new residential properties planned along with 300 holiday homes.
St Modwen acquired the 478-acre former MoD army base site in 2004.
The company told investors earlier this week it was confident of improving on profitability after bouncing back from a £98.3 million loss in the first half of 2009.
It said it had received a number of approaches for future developments, and was actively seeking new sites.
