Fish Island South • the Regeneration of Fish Island South Was a Specific
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Fish Island South • The regeneration of Fish Island South was a specific goal when mixed use planning permissions were given for the properties facing the River Lea. People have bought properties here on the understanding that they were in the first wave of redevelopment and that they would become part of a thriving community. Why is the Council now making such a dramatic U-turn, returning to a policy which has been proven to be obsolete? • Before residential development began, Fish Island was a failing industrial area, with low-density employment figures and empty lots. A few large employers had also moved out of the area to escape rising land values/rents and had not been replaced. What evidence do the Council have that a return to industrial zoning will avoid this same fate in the future? • GVA Grimley prepared an employment report for Henley Homes in February 2006 (copy enclosed). They carried out an analysis of the commercial property market in Tower Hamlets and surrounding Boroughs. Their research found that there is currently 37,085 sq m of available industrial space in Tower Hamlets. When compared against the take-up figure of 3,797 sq m per annum, this indicates that there is approximately 9½ years of immediately available space in the borough to satisfy short-term requirements. • We have been advised that the demand for industrial land has shifted east out of central London. Developers are seeking larger, more accessible areas of land further out of the capital in places such as Dartford and Havering. There is a huge oversupply of industrial space in Tower Hamlets and Fish Island South is not an ideal area for industrial operators. Therefore there is unlikely to be sufficient industrial demand to regenerate Fish Island South as an industrial area. • If this policy is enacted, the Olympics will adjoin an underdeveloped unappealing area as opposed to a flourishing chain of well-designed developments. Mixed use regeneration of Fish Island South could create an active community where people live and work next to the Olympic site. The LDF could require a high quality of urban design in Fish Island South to ensure an appropriate interface with the Olympic and legacy proposals. • If this policy is enacted, there is a danger that the riverside walkway will remain unimproved and inaccessible. Henley Homes has undertaken to regenerate a stretch of the walkway and would be keen to complete this work, for which it has already paid, in order to add to the aesthetics and accessibility of the whole waterfront section. • Mixed-use developments are bringing much-needed social housing and S106 contributions to Tower Hamlets. • Mixed-use developments subsidise the commercial units located within them, bringing more jobs than industrial zoning would. • Locating sources of employment at the heart of residential districts can only be beneficial to those districts and lead to faster and more sustainable growth. Allowing those sites which back onto the River Lea to become mixed-use developments and the rest of Fish Island South to remain industrial will set up a positive symbiosis. Fish Island South will become busy throughout the day, as both workers and residents make use of the increasing number of local amenities. • Prime waterfront sites would be wasted as commercial lots. Developers keen to capitalise on these sites will bring more revenue into Tower Hamlets than commercial use would and the result is more aesthetically appealing, indeed award-winning. GVA Grimley Iceland Wharf Economic and Employment Study Henley Homes plc February 2006 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND...........................................................................................................................................1 THE PROPOSAL .........................................................................................................................................1 STUDY AREA.............................................................................................................................................1 2. ECONOMIC CONTEXT ..................................................................................................................3 OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................3 TOWER HAMLETS EMPLOYMENT PROFILE ................................................................................................5 UNEMPLOYMENT PROFILE ........................................................................................................................6 SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................................6 3. PROPERTY ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................8 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................................8 CHANGE IN STOCK OF FLOORSPACE..........................................................................................................8 DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY .......................................................................................................................10 FLOORSPACE AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................11 MARKET DEMAND ..................................................................................................................................14 SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................................16 APPENDIX A: LOCATION MAP OF FISH ISLAND.........................................................................18 APPENDIX B: PHOTOGRAPHS OF ICELAND WHARF ................................................................19 APPENDIX C:AVAILABLE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SCHEDULE (TOWER HAMLETS) ...21 APPENDIX D: INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY TAKE-UP SCHEDULE (TOWER HAMLETS)........22 Iceland Wharf Economic and Employment Study 1. INTRODUCTION Background 1.1 This report provides an analysis of the commercial property market and an assessment of the labour market in Tower Hamlets and surrounding boroughs. The report is in support of a planning application by Henley Homes plc properties for the redevelopment of Iceland Wharf for a residential based mixed-use scheme. 1.2 This report provides a focussed update on the original report produced in October 2005, rather than a detailed re-assessment, with particular attention paid to how market sentiment has changed. The report also addresses the issues raised by Tower Hamlets borough council as far as they have been specified. 1.3 The objectives of the report are as follows: o To identify the change in industrial employment in the study area along with projections for the future, and assess its effect upon the property market; and o To provide an analysis of industrial floorspace availability in the study area linked to past demand levels. 1.4 The method used has involved a combination of review of material and data, discussions with local authorities and local property agents, and in-house market knowledge. The results of this approach have enabled the above components to be rigorously examined, with a robust assessment produced. The Proposal 1.5 The site is located on the west bank of the River Lea with the A12 to the west of the site. The site is currently partially occupied by a number of small businesses, including a vehicle-breakers and a hand car wash. It is proposed to develop the site for mixed-use, with 205 residential units planned. Study Area 1.6 The site is located at the north-western edge of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and abuts the London Borough of Newham. The site is approximately 0.6 hectares in size and the land is currently used (primarily) for low value industrial purposes. The floor area is approximately 500 sq m, with between 8 to 12 people employed on-site. 1.7 The site lies in an area known as Fish Island. In practical property market terms this is bounded by the Old Ford junction of the A12 East Cross Route in the south, the Hackney Wick/Wallis Road in the north, the A12 to the west and the River Lea to the east. (See Appendix 1 for location plan). Historically this was an established industrial and warehousing area, with relatively good access to the City and Docklands. However, the number and scale of industrial businesses has reduced significantly over the last 20 years. 1.8 Historically, Fish Island proper is defined as the area south of the Hertford Union Canal and north of Wick Lane/Crown Close. This area provides a range of recognisably industrial buildings of various sizes, many of which are pre-War, but with a number of reasonable quality buildings and sites. The southern part of this area (south of Dace Road), which includes Iceland Wharf, the industrial property offer is generally poorer GVA Grimley Page 1 Iceland Wharf Economic and Employment Study quality, including more irregular property arrangements, limited parking/loading arrangements for some sites, and property in generally poor condition. We have examined both these areas, as relevant, in examining the more detailed property market data discussed in the report. 1.9 However, the market