The majority of town centres “were created when people were on horses” and are no longer suitable for any major commercial schemes, a leading developer has claimed. He has also slammed councils who oppose edge-of-town developments as “living in the past”.
Outdated views of what a town centre should look like, with a top-heavy mix of retail premises, is no longer viable or desirable says Kent developer Mark Quinn. “Planning has got to move forward to what people want now,” said the Quinn Estates director who, in 2008, was placed 50th in the Top 100 Young Developers, by Property Week magazine.
“There is going to have to be a shift away from retail and town centres are going to have to change. In future they will need to be residentially led with a good mix of employment, places to live and other amenities.”
Quinn, whose first career was as an international skier and instructor, entered the world of property development at the age of 23 when he built his own health club, which he later sold for more than £1m. He says successful property development has a lot in common with downhill skiing. “You need to look ahead, have the ability to spot the best route, but always be able to change course at the last minute in order to reap the rewards.”
In collaboration with fellow property investor George Wilson, he has so far been involved in the development of more than 300,000sq ft of commercial space. Quinn Estates is currently pressing ahead with plans for several high-profile mixed-use projects in the county, including Beer Cart Lane in Canterbury, Dane Park in Faversham, and a scheme to build on the former Herne Bay Golf Club.
“Mixed use developments are the key driving force in the next five years,” added Quinn. “If you’re putting business parks next to residential, no one is going to want to build it. Sensitivity is the way forward.” His view of where town centre planning should go has won both local and national supporters.
David Hicken is managing director of Maidstone development consultants DHA Planning. He agreed that councils need to change their planning strategy. “Planners are obsessed with regulation and planning in general has lost its ability to create vision,” he said. “Too few people in the planning field are capable of creating a vision for the future.”
For architect Andrew Pullin, who has advised previous Governments on urban planning issues, the point is more to do with “compliant” developers as it is with “historically rigid” planners. “At the moment the system follows very traditional lines,” he explains. “You have an idea for a project, the planners knock it back, and you modify it again and again until it is approved.
“We need farsighted people, on both sides of the fence, to admit that populating our town centres with certain types of development is no longer sensible. It’s called change — and it should be driven by innovation and need rather than held back by history.”
Previous Post
Battle over London Skyline Escalates
