Procurement of a Development Partner for Major Sites in Dartford Town Centre
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APPENDIX A Procurement of a Development Partner for Major Sites in Dartford Town Centre www.dtz.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 3296 3000 Dartford Town Centre Sites FOREWORD FROM THE LEADER Thank you for registering your interest in this development opportunity, although I am not surprised that you have. It is a wonderful opportunity to work with willing partners in an unrivalled location to create something of great value. This document provides all the information you need about developing Dartford’s Station Quarter, former Co-operative Department Store site (Hythe Street) and Kent Road Westgate Car Park site. Dartford is growing, with strategic developments in the pipeline in the shape of Paramount London at Swanscombe Peninsula and the creation of Ebbsfleet Garden City. New homes and businesses are also being built as part of the Northern Gateway and The Bridge development in the north of the Borough. Dartford Borough Council is working to complement this growth with improvements throughout the town centre. Work has already been carried out in the beautiful Central Park to return it to its Edwardian splendour and increase its popularity with local residents, with a children’s waterplay area, café, skatepark, events, a new entrance, paths & bridges. A new Station building for the busy mainline railway station is now complete being a high quality and contemporarily designed building which is capable of handling in excess of 2 million passengers a year. Back in 2012, DBC created a Town Team which successfully bid to become one of Britain’s first 12 Portas Towns. We have been putting our bid into action and traders are confirming fresh confidence in the Town Centre and new retailers (large and small) have been attracted. The initiative has also put us in touch with some big-name companies who are helping us to realise some of the more long-term objectives of the Council. Shoppers will soon benefit from a wider range of supermarkets in the town. Aldi are opening a store in the Orchards Shopping Centre early in 2015 and the Council is working with Lidl to find it a site for a new store. We have been celebrating the town’s older buildings with the Townscape Heritage Initiative. This Heritage Lottery Funded project has enabled us to make cosmetic improvements and restore some of the oldest buildings in the town. Dartford’s Fairfield Pool and Leisure Centre, on the edge of the town, is currently undergoing major refurbishment and redevelopment programme and is expected to reopen in late 2015. Our residents have a right to demand that we strike a balance between homes, shops, business premises, and health and leisure facilities in the Town Centre. The sites outlined in this document are ideal for development – suitable for a mix of uses including offices, homes, leisure, retail and community facilities. We are looking to work with a development partner who shares our vision for the Town Centre, its heritage and future, and its importance to residents and businesses. Thank you again for your interest. [Signature to be added] Councillor Jeremy Kite Leader of the Council Page 2 Dartford Town Centre Sites INTRODUCTION Dartford Borough Council (DBC), the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Network Rail (NR) have joined forces as landowners to bring about a series of major transformations to Dartford Town Centre. As such, DBC, HCA and NR (‘the Landowners’) have entered into Collaboration Agreements for two major strategic sites in the Town Centre and now wish to jointly promote the sites for high quality re-development. The sites are set out below and in this document have been referred to collectively as the ‘major sites’: • Station Quarter; a 2.0 ha (4.8 acre) site suitable for a range of uses including, but not restricted to, offices, residential, hotel, community facilities and supporting retail and leisure. • The former Co-operative Department Store site & Kent Road Westgate Car Park site 1; a 0.8 ha (2.1 acre) site suitable for a range of uses including, but not restricted to, offices, retail, leisure, residential, public parking and other town centre compatible uses such as health facilities to meet community demand and aspirations . Attractively, part of these sites have potential for a new DBC Civic Centre (DBC has a record of improving efficiency and wishes to relocate to smaller, modern and more cost-effective accommodation). This is a unique opportunity to bring forward significant development on close to 7 acres of land in a major South East town centre with strong road and rail connections and the potential for a Crossrail Station if the network is extended beyond Abbey Wood. The land comprising the major sites will be available for development, with vacant possession of the vast majority of the subject area. The Landowners are seeking a development partner with the relevant experience, vision, capability and finance to deliver major mixed use schemes on these major sites. The development partner will be required to capitalise on the opportunity to make much better use of the major sites’ area, greatly improve the environment, connectivity and vitality of Dartford Town Centre. This Memorandum of Information (MOI) provides background information to this exciting opportunity and seeks to convey the key objectives and aspirations of the Landowners. If you are interested in expressing an interest to tender for this opportunity, please complete and return the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) by the submission date. We are committed to an efficient and cost effective procurement process to encourage and maintain interest. Further details on the procurement process are set out in the Marketing and Procurement section. 1 Currently in use as a temporary surface car park Page 3 Dartford Town Centre Sites WHY DARTFORD? STRATEGIC POSITION Dartford is situated in the heart of the Thames Gateway Regeneration Area. It stands at a pivotal point between London, Kent and Essex. The Borough is divided into two distinct areas. To the north of the A2 lies the largely built up areas of Dartford Town Centre and its associated neighbourhoods, Stone, Greenhithe and Swanscombe. To the south of the A2 lies the Metropolitan Green Belt, consisting of open countryside and attractive villages - 70% of the population live within the urban area to the north of the A2. The Borough contains key transport links. The A2/M2 is the main link between the channel ports, London and the rest of the UK. The Dartford Crossing on the M25 London Orbital Motorway is the only vehicular crossing of the Thames east of London. The High Speed 1 international and domestic services run through Ebbsfleet International Station, linking the Borough with Paris, Lille and Brussels, as well as providing connections to the wider high speed rail network throughout Europe. The domestic Javelin service links Ebbsfleet to central London in 17 minutes. Other domestic services running through the Borough connect Dartford to the Kent coast and the London termini of Charing Cross, Cannon Street, and Victoria; this provides up to 13 trains an hour and London termini can be reached in as little as 31 minutes. The Fastrack bus network, which runs on its own dedicated bus lanes for much of its route, links new and existing residential, employment and retail centres across Dartford and parts of Gravesham. Figure 1 - Dartford and its relationship to key local and regional infrastructure and major developments STRONG DEMOGRAPHICS & ECONOMY Dartford’s current population is 100,600, which is expected to rise to 130,400 by 2026 and the Borough has low unemployment, below both the Kent and UK averages. The Borough experienced significant jobs growth over the period from 1995 to 2005, Page 4 Dartford Town Centre Sites particularly at the Bluewater Regional Shopping Centre and the Crossways Business Park. Further substantial growth in jobs is predicted through to 2031. MAJOR DEVELOPMENT BEING DELIVERED The Borough contains a number of important and strategically significant development sites including Eastern Quarry, Ebbsfleet Valley, Swanscombe Peninsula and Dartford Town Centre. • The sites at Eastern Quarry, Ebbsfleet, Swanscombe Peninsular together with some smaller sites will form the Ebbsfleet Garden City, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his 2014 Budget Statement. The project will include 15,000 new homes, over £200 million of investment in the area’s infrastructure and the Paramount London Leisure Resort, a £2billion development on the Swanscombe Peninsula, due to open in 2019/20, which could bring 27,000 jobs and 15 million visitors a year. Development of the Ebbsfleet Garden City will be overseen by an Urban Development Corporation. This will add to demand in the area and support wider regeneration within Dartford Town Centre. • The Bridge is a mixed use business and innovation park that has been designed to encourage an entrepreneurial culture and the development of knowledge-based industries in the Thames Gateway. With the potential for over 1.8 million square feet of commercial space within a thriving new community, The Bridge is an ideal location for organisations that are keen to be part of Europe’s largest eco-region. Building on the success of Premier Inn and Beefeater Grill, The Bridge has two highly visible roadside plots for development by hotel and restaurant operators. When fully completed, the Bridge will include 1,500 new homes ranging from one bedroom apartments through to 4-bedroom houses. Located beside Junction 1a of the M25 at Dartford, Kent, The Bridge has immediate access to the motorway network. The Fastrack public transport service runs through the development, providing direct connections to railway stations at Dartford, Greenhithe, Gravesend and Ebbsfleet International. • Weston Homes is seeking to develop the 7.6-acre, former Wellcome factory site in Dartford.