228
Object
Southend Central Area Action Plan (SCAAP) - Revised Proposed Submission 2016
Representation ID: 2866
Received: 15/12/2016
Respondent: Stockvale Group
Agent: Stockvale Group
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? No
In its monitoring indicators and targets for DS5, this proposes:
"DS5.1 Providing a level of publically available car parking provision to support the vitality and viability of the central area - no net loss of permanent publically available car parking south of the central railway line."
There needs to be more detail here to provide comfort to seafront traders that existing supply will be retained and enhanced. The following is not clear:
1. Which car parks form part of the baseline against which to measure this? The RPS Technical Note shows that the existing capacity in the Council's Car Parking Study (CPS), undertaken by Steer Davis Gleave, is inaccurate and needs to be reviewed, as it severely underestimates supply in the seafront area by excluding a number of car parks.
2. How will this take into account additional demand in seafront car parks caused by the displacement from car parks elsewhere in the Southend Central Area where there has been
a reduction in capacity (as there is no policy protecting capacity here)?
3. How will this take into account the trips generated by new development, both on existing car park sites and elsewhere in the Southend Central Area?
4. How will this monitor the success of the main SCAAP objectives, which is to secure growth?
Simply maintaining no net loss could have the effect of reducing investment and visitors to the Central Seafront Area. There needs to be a mechanism to measure how parking capacity in the Central Seafront Area is being increased, and whether these spaces are sufficient.
RPS has prepared the following representations to Southend Borough Council's Southend Central Area Action Plan (SCAAP), Revised Proposed Submission Version (November 2016) The following Headings represent Paragraphs or Policies contained within the SCAAP. These representations should be read in conjunction with the accompanying completed Representations Forms.
Our client operates the largest and most successful tourism businesses in Southend (The StockvaleGroup is the owner and operator of: Adventure Island theme park; Sealife Adventure; Three Shells beach café; Pavilion Fish and Chips; Feelgoods Pizza Pasta Restaurant; Sands Bistro restaurant; Adventure Inside and Radio Essex). We would like an opportunity to explain our client's business aspirations and explain why the policies in the Plan will not provide a firm basis for the growth of tourism in Southend, and indeed will have the opposite effect on tourism businesses to the objectives set out at the start of the SCAAP. It is very important to our client that the Inspector understands the consequences of adopting the SCAAP as currently drafted.