GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 Introduction & Welcome Grays Shopping Centre is an important part of Grays Town Centre with its distinctive high street, varied retail offer and good transport connections. The shopping centre is right at the heart and it represents an exciting opportunity to increase both vibrancy, vitality and offer an improved range of facilities and much needed new homes that will help create a viable long-term future for the town. The owners of the shopping centre NewRiver are committed to working closely with existing retailers and the local community to help shape the future of the shopping centre and its relationship with the wider town. NewRiver has appointed community planners JTP to facilitate a Community Planning Weekend. Community Planning Weekend Programme Friday 28 February, Saturday 29 February, Public Workshop Day 1 Public Workshop Day 2 1.45pm Doors open & exhibition begins 11.00am Doors open & exhibition begins 2.00 Welcome and introduction 11.15 Welcome and introduction 11.30 Dialogue Workshop - Grays 2.10 Dialogue Workshop - Grays Shopping Centre Tomorrow Shopping Centre Today Young People’s Workshop Post-it Workshop Hands-on Planning Young People’s Workshop Young People’s Workshop 12.45pm Lunch break 3.15 Refreshment break 1.30 Hands-on Planning Groups 3.30 Hands-on Planning Groups Young People’s Workshop 4.45 Refreshment break (continued) 5.00 Feedback from Hands-on 2.45 Refreshment break Planning 3.00 Feedback from Hands-on 5.30 Workshops & exhibition Planning Groups conclude 3.30 Next Steps 4.00 Workshops & exhibition conclude Tuesday 03 March, Report Back Presentation Hands-on Planning Workshop Thameside Theatre, Orsett Road, Grays RM17 5DX 6.30pm Doors open 6.45 Report Back of the Vision for Grays Shopping Centre 8.30 Close Project Tour Post-it Workshop Report Back GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 JTP Placemaking Collaborative Placemaking: Building a Vision Together ABOUT US We put people at the heart of the planning process, unearthing the real needs of a Engaging stakeholders and the wider community at an early stage encourages community, empowering stakeholders, creating goodwill, inspiring community spirit understanding, creates shared ownership, and allows the construction of a and building consensus. collective vision. Far from imposing ready-made off-the-shelf solutions, we will build a vision Creating begins with the visioning process and ends with physical interventions. together. This leads to places that are vibrant, valued and sustainable from Along the way there are many issues to resolve and many actions to coordinate. the outset. This adds up to a process we call “Collaborative Placemaking”. We approach all our projects through a process of Understanding, Engaging, Creating. Understanding the DNA of a place is fundamental to successful placemaking. We don’t stop until we truly get under the skin of a place and identify what makes it special. “Collaborative Placemaking” We listen We debate Our workshops uncover the things that matter most We draw together We create new places and to people breathe life into old ones GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 The Team CLIENT NewRiver REIT plc (NewRiver) are the owners of Grays Shopping Centre, having acquired the centre in 2018. The NewRiver team would like to thank you for taking the time to visit us today. NewRiver is a specialist FTSE250 public company, focused on buying, managing and developing community and convenience led retail & leisure assets across the UK. We are invested in over 700 communities up and down the country and are proud to work in partnership with over 60 different local authorities, adopting an active role in helping drive long-term economic growth and positive social impact in the towns we are invested in. NewRiver are now exploring plans for the potential improvement of Grays Shopping Centre, alongside Thurrock Council, that would ensure the town is relevant, realistic and sustainable for the long-term. We’d like to hear what YOU would like to see in your future Grays town centre so please share your thoughts. Market Street, Newbury ARCHITECT & URBAN DESIGNERS JTP is an award-winning international placemaking practice of architects and urban designers with extensive experience of delivering successful projects throughout the UK and internationally. We are passionate about placemaking and our unique approach has received high praise; a selection of placemaking projects are shown on the right where the team has sucessfully created new places, and reinvigorated existing town centres. ARCHITECTS Our award-winning ethos is to create high quality architectural solutions that blend a strategic, design-led approach with an integral commercial awareness. As Fulham Reach, London placemakers we know that architecture is about more than an individual building and we work collaboratively with our clients to understand and develop the spaces around and between structures. With a broad portfolio of work that covers commercial, industrial, education, retail and leisure, and residential projects across the UK, we marry 40 years of professional experience with cutting edge technologies, producing design solutions that enhance the built environment. PLANNING CONSULTANT Savills is one of the world’s leading property agents with some 240 planning specialists covering every sector and area in the UK. Our geographical reach and expertise in all areas of land use allows us to combine sector-leading expertise with detailed local knowledge to identify solutions to the most complex and challenging Dickens Yard, Ealing London planning projects. GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 Wider Context GRAYS - WIDER CONTEXT Grays with a population of roughly 67,000 is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex. It is one of Thurrock’s traditional (Church of England) parishes. A12 M25 A127 Grays sits on the north bank of the River Thames and is approximately 14 miles north of Kent Downs - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A128 Southend-on-Sea Situated roughly 20 miles (32 km) east of London Central London the town lies just outside the M25 boundary. A13 A13 connects Grays to the west towards central London City Airport Grays London and to the east towards Southend-on-Sea. A2 River Thames Ebbsfleet International Kent Downs AONB To Romford GRAYS - LOCAL CONTEXT To Central Belhus Woods To Chelmsford Country Park London Grays benefits from a series of Nature parks, To Fenchurch Street A1036 A13 Country Parks within close proximity of the town and Rainham marshes to the west. A1089 M25 Davy Down A1012 Riverside Park Grays is well connected to the surrounding towns Rainham Marshes King George’s via road and rail. It is connected with rail links Nature Reserve Field A13 Chafford Gorges to London on the C2C service into Fenchurch Nature Park Street station. Grays Chalk Quarry A1090 Lakeside Nature Reserve Purfleet Grays A1089 To Southend Central Bridge Tilbury Town Queen Elisabeth II Tilbury Port Stone Crossing Greenhithe for Bluewater Swanscombe River Thames To London Bridge Gravesend To Gillingham Ebbsfleet International M25 Darenth To London Country Park To Paris To Dover GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 PALMERS AVENUE THAMESIDE THEATRE ORSETT ROAD GRAYS TOWN PARK HIGH STREET HIGH QUEENSGATE LONDON ROAD - A126 CENTRE CLARENCE ROAD MORRISONS GRAYS ALDI SHOPPING CENTRE CROWN ROAD GRAYS TRAIN STATION THURROCK COUNCIL NEW ROAD ARGENT STREET SHERFIELD ROAD SOUTH ESSEX COLLEGE RIVER THAMES NTS GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 BROOKE ROAD EASTERN WAY QUARRY HILL LONDON ROAD - A126 DERBY ROAD ORSETT ROAD BEDFORD ROAD HIGH STREET HIGH QUEENSGATE LONDON ROAD - A126 CENTRE CLARENCE ROAD CLARENCE ROAD GEORGE STREET STANLEY ROAD FINCHLEY ROAD GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE GRANGE ROAD CROWN ROAD CROWN ROAD BRIDGE ROAD DERBY HIGH STREET HIGH GRAYS TRAIN STATION BRUCES WHARF ROAD THURROCK COUNCIL NEW ROAD SHERFIELD ROAD SHERFIELD ARGENT STREET SOUTH ESSEX SEABROOKE RISE WEST STREET COLLEGE NTS GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 Existing Shopping Centre NTS 1 2 3 Key Plan 4 5 5 1 2 4 3 GRAYS SHOPPING CENTRE Community Planning Weekend : 28 February - 3 March 2020 Grays Town Centre Framework Grays Town Centre Framework - Concept Plan Grays Town Centre Framework - Proposed Land Use Figure 4.1: Proposed land uses Figure 3.1: The concept plan Titan Pitt Titan Pit F i N F Hogg Lane Hogg Hogg Lane Hogg Thameside M Complex A H i help to attract new retailers.Grays The Town expectation Park is that the Thurrock H ENHANCE SEABROOK RISE ESTATE development of new retail spaces will act as a catalystThurrock for Adult investment into existing premises, including shopAdult front Orsett Road Community The Council is considering plans for environmental J College Orsett Road improvements that will enhance the image of theCommunity town improvements in the Seabrook Rise Estate. These will College centre. also aim to improve wayfinding around the estate and improve connections between the town centre and the HOUSINGClarence Road river. State Cinema The town centre offers significant opportunities for D I PROVIDE FOR TOWN CENTRE LIVING E I B residential intensification in an area well servedF by public transport and facilities. An increase in