Drivers Jonas Deloitte Four Brindleyplace Birmingham B1 2HZ Tel: +44 (0) 121 695 5500 Fax: +44 (0) 121 695 5678 www.djdeloitte.co.uk Direct: +44 (0) 121 695 5786 Sandwell Council Direct Fax: +44 (0) 121 695 5678 Directorate of Regeneration & Economy [email protected] Planning Policy Development House Lombard Street West Bromwich West Midlands B70 8RU 22 September 2011 Our Ref: C-0167999 Dear Sirs Sandwell Local Development Framework – Site Allocations and Delivery Development Plan Publication Document (August 2011) Drivers Jonas Deloitte act on behalf of West Bromwich Albion Football Club, in respect of their land at The Hawthorns stadium, Birmingham Road, West Bromwich. Our Client welcomes the opportunity to comment on Sandwell Site Allocations and Delivery Development Plan Document. The Site The Hawthorns is the 26,200 all seater home stadium used by West Bromwich Albion Football Club. The site extends to approximately 3.76 hectares, with the site bounded by Birmingham Road to the north of the site and Halfords Lane to the west of the site. The East Stand of the stadium is bounded by the stadium’s car park. The south of the stadium (Smethwick End) is bounded by an area of residential development. The currently vacant Hawthorns pub is located to the west of the stadium. Surrounding the site is an area of residential development to the south and industrial development to the surrounding east and west areas. The site is located on a strategic highway route, with buses serving Birmingham Road providing direct access to West Bromwich Town Centre. The site is located approximately 0.8 kilometres (0.5 miles) from Junction 1 of the M5. The Hawthorns rail and Metro station is located to the south of the site. Frequent services are provided between Birmingham to Stourbridge and Birmingham to Wolverhampton, calling at local stations. The administrative boundary of Birmingham City Council lies directly to the east of the site. Site Allocations Development Plan Document Drivers Jonas Deloitte submitted a letter of representation on behalf of our Client to the Site Allocations Development Plan Document in December 2010. We have appended a copy of these representations to this letter and would ask that the comments contained within the December 2010 representations are also considered in relation to the further representations contained within this letter. We note that the Site Allocations document is intended to guide development within Sandwell through the allocation of sites and the creation of local policy, notably through the identification of specific corridors of Deloitte LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC303675 and its registered office at 2 New Street Square, London EC4A 3BZ, United Kingdom. Drivers Jonas Deloitte is a trading name of Deloitte LLP, which is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), a UK private company limited by guarantee, whose member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.co.uk/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms. Drivers Jonas Deloitte is regulated by RICS. Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited 20924126_1] regeneration. Our Client’s site is within Regeneration Corridor 12 – Oldbury / West Bromwich / Smethwick. Our comments in respect of the proposals for Regeneration Corridor 12 are provided below. Regeneration Corridor 12 – Oldbury / West Bromwich / Smethwick This Regeneration Corridor includes a wide range of allocations for different uses, with a number of allocations in close proximity to our Client’s site. Immediately to the north of the stadium, on the opposite side of Birmingham Road, are “Potential High Quality Employment Land” and “High Quality Employment Land” allocations. Although not adjacent to our Client’s site, a number of other employment and residential allocations are identified within this general part of the Regeneration Corridor. The Vision for Regeneration Corridor is for it to be an area of major regeneration, with the objective of maximising the economic locational advantages that the area has in respect of its close proximity to Birmingham. We consider that there is a major opportunity for The Hawthorns stadium to contribute towards promoting regeneration and a diversity of uses in the area. As a major leisure and local community use in the area, West Bromwich Albion Football Club provides significant potential to act as a catalyst for regeneration to support the delivery of proposed allocations within the Corridor and also the wider delivery of unallocated underused and previously developed sites in the area. In relation to the regeneration of unallocated sites, such opportunities could deliver enhanced facilities for the local community and visitors to the area that complement and support the Club and the nearby Sandwell Academy, expanding the focus for investment and community activities. These facilities could include, for example, hotels, leisure uses, supporting retail and conferencing facilities. Such uses would also contribute towards the creation of Sustainable Communities that incorporate a wide mix of uses to complement existing and emerging employment and residential uses. We consider that policy support should therefore be provided within the Site Allocations DPD to the regeneration of sites for a range of uses that would complement and support the Football Club. This strategy would help to secure the wider regeneration of the area as well as contribute positively towards the local and national aims of the delivery of sustainable development. Transport and Accessibility Our Client’s site is well served by public transport with bus services serving Birmingham Road and stops between Birmingham City Centre and West Bromwich Town Centre, and railway stations in close proximity to the Hawthorns stadium, serving local stations around the West Midlands. Support for public transport enhancements in this area should be provided through the Site Allocations DPD in order to reduce congestion along strategic highway routes. Our Client therefore supports the Highways Improvements proposed at the junction of Birmingham Road and Middlemore Road and the allocation of Birmingham Road as a Red Route which is expected to alleviate existing congestion. The proposed improvements to Junction 1 of the M5 are identified as a key priority within the Black Country Core Strategy and is included as a proposal within the Site Allocations DPD. Our Client supports the promotion of this as a priority within the Site Allocations DPD in order to be able to maximise development opportunities that will benefit from these improvements. In parallel, we also consider however that it is important that public transport improvements are promoted to provide alternative forms of transport to the private car and to positively influence the travel behaviours of members of the local community and visitors to the area, as well as supporters of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. 2 Summary We consider that the Hawthorns stadium has a significant and positive role to play within Sandwell in securing further investment into the area. The stadium is a valuable existing leisure and community use in the Borough and has potential to act as a major catalyst for regeneration to support the delivery of proposed allocations within the Corridor and also the wider delivery of unallocated underused and previously developed sites in the area. In order to maximise regeneration potential, we would recommend that positive promotion be made through the DPD for a mix of uses on non-allocated land within the part of the Regeneration Corridor where the stadium lies. Such development could not only support and complement the Football Club, but also promote the wider regeneration of the area and meet the objectives of sustainable development. We trust that the representations contained within this letter will be given due consideration in taking forward the DPD. Should you have any queries or wish to discuss these representations, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely Mathew Jones for Deloitte LLP (trading as Drivers Jonas Deloitte) 3 .