Acquisitions Strategy
he Strategic Acquisition Strategy can be seen as an evolving process and will be run in conjunction with Conwy County Borough Council and the Welsh Assembly Government. This is a critical part of the delivery strategy and as such needs to be proactively managed. It is important that the acquisitions are achieved within the timescale of the project as a whole in order to maximise funding available for the North Wales Coast Strategic Regeneration area. Overall the Strategic Acquisition Strategy must deliver the required properties, at the current time and within budget. There must be a minimum of wastage and superfluous resource. Properties which are occupied outside the terms and remit of a co-ordinated or controlled Strategic Acquisition Strategy are likely to be surplus to requirements and will not only be an initial waste of resources but will also be an unnecessary arrangement cost in the future.
Sites have been earmarked for early acquisition, and are located in both the Housing Market Renewal Area and also in and around Colwyn Bay. Such sites include: -
6.4 For the time being, we have included the following sites within the Strategic Acquisition Strategy:-
- The Housing Market Renewal Area
- The five sites included within Conwy's early acquisition proposals
- The additional areas of Penrhyn Road, Wynstay Road, Mostyn Road, Princes Drive, Marine Road and Conway Road
- The 28 sites identified within the Shape Masterplan.
6.5 The "Strategy" sets out the criteria and justifications for the public sector's involvement within the area, together with the identification of key land holdings and opportunities which may be brought forward. We are working closely with the master planning and client teams to inform programming and identify early wins, identify properties on the market, identify vacants/derelict and properties not in public sector ownership and to address issues of deliverability and outputs.
6.6 Housing Market Renewal Area
The renewal area covers approximately 41 acres, just east of Colwyn Bay town centre and incorporates a total of 451 properties. The vast majority of properties located in the HMRI area are currently in residential use, although there are a significant number of retail units along Abergele Road and to the west of Greenfield Road. A total of 36 properties operate solely as retail units, with another 53 currently in mixed use including a retail element. A high proportion of residential properties to the north of Abergele Road are substantial 2/3 storey Victorian houses, with a variety of terraced, semi detached and detached dwellings. The average size of such residential properties has exacerbated a high level of conversion into flats. Indeed, a total of 93 properties (20.6%) have been divided into HMOs according to the VOA. There are three clusters of industrial accommodation throughout the HMRI area, amounting to a total of 12 units (2.7% of the total). The bulk of the commercial accommodation is located to the rear of Greenfield Road, which contains a total of 7 units. A further 4 units are located on Back Belgrave Road, and another on Grove Road.
Conwy's 5 Sites for Early Acquisitions- Old Market Hall, 2/4-16 Princes Drive
The Old Market Hall incorporates a number of predominantly under-utilised retail units, located within close proximity to Colwyn Bay Railway Station and the Imperial Hotel. The properties form part of the wider station gateway, and are of particular prominence. The properties lie within the same block as the County Court Buildings and the local JD Weatherspoons pub occupying the former town centre cinema, aptly named 'The Picture House'. The properties comprising the Old Market Hall are all three storeys, with vacant ancillary/office accommodation above. Only one of the 5 retail units appears to be occupied. It is understood that CCBC have purchased the former KFC unit, which occupied Nos. 2/4 Princes Drive. This site has earmarked for potential mixed use development, which could incorporate a ground floor retail unit with residential or office space above. The development possibilities for this site have not been fully explored, although as has been previously recognised, the site is of intrinsic importance given its proximity to the station, and any refurbishment of the premises will have to reflect this.
- 3-8 Bay View Road and 1-3 Lincoln Terrace
- CFR, Douglas Road
- 10 Douglas Road
- 2 and 4 Groes Road (Former Laundry)
No. 2 Groes Road comprises an imposing two storey detached house, located upon an elevated corner plot overlooking Abergele Road and Eirias Park. Whilst No. 2 Groes Road appears to be currently within residential use, No. 4 appears to be within commercial use. No. 4 Groes Road contains 13 units; of which Nos. 1-8 comprise a motorcycle warehouse, and Nos. 9, 10, 11-12 and 13 which are currently utilised as workshop/warehouse accommodation. The total site amounts to circa 1.6 acres and has been earmarked as a possible site for a future hotel development. This site is referred to as Project 28 within the Masterplan.
6.7 Additional Areas of Wynstay Road, Mostyn Road, Princes Drive, Conwy Road
The additional area studied includes the area bounded by Conway Road, Marine Road, Princes Drive and Penrhyn Road. There are a total of 124 properties located within the area, with a mixture of residential, retail and office uses. Penrhyn Road forms the western boundary of the Colwyn Bay's main shopping area. Similarly Conway Road, as has been detailed above, contains a number of retail units containing secondary uses. Conway Road has a number of the major high street banks, such as Barclays and RBS in substantial corner properties. Wynnstay Road and Princes Drive contain a number of offices, and seems popular amongst professional practices, with accountants, surveyors and solicitors in occupation. Marine Road, Hawarden Road and Mostyn Road contain a number of larger three storey detached/semi-detached properties, which have been subdivided into flats. A number of larger, modern purpose built flats have been built within proximity to the junction around Conway Road and Marine Road. The additional area studied above has not been considered for any acquisitions. This is for two reasons. Firstly, a number of private sector led developments for elderly people such as Swn-Y-Mor and Rhoslan Park located on the corners of Marine Road and Conway Road have already improved the area aesthetically. Secondly, this area does not create the possibility of opening up infill development sites quite so easily as the Housing Market Renewal Area considered above.
6.8 Area Analysis in Support of Acquisitions
A varied amount of work has been undertaken regarding each separate site. We have undertaken an area level characterisation for the whole of Colwyn Bay town centre area. This has enabled us to understand the local built environment, infrastructure and public realm. This has been accompanied and supplemented in many instances with a more specific property level characterisation, which attempts to understand each property on a more individual basis. Each individual property has been externally inspected, which has generated data such as the nature, type, occupation and condition of the incumbent stock. Further analysis of such data, alongside VOA and market data has enabled us to ascertain the use, as well as availability. The area level and property level characterisation was further informed and supplemented by a full photographic catalogue of each street and more specifically, each individual property.
6.9 Housing Renewal Area
Analysis included two site visits, which provided a full photographic catalogue of properties within the renewal area. A matching schedule has been drawn up, which lists all properties, as well as listing the buildings current use as specified by the VOA. We have identified the clusters of HMOs and specific clusters of poor quality premises, as we sought to undertake our property level characterisation process.
6.10 Conwy's 5 Early Acquisition Sites
Each of the 5 sites identified by Conwy County Borough Council has been identified and extensively studied. This was done to place each individual property within the context of the surrounding built environment. Furthermore information has been ascertained from the VOA to identify the buildings current use. If the property has been placed on the market, particulars have been obtained. Each individual property has been photographed and catalogued to supplement our opinions gained from the extensive study of the site.
6.11 Additional Areas of Wynstay Road, Mostyn Road, Princes Drive, Conway Road
Conwy County Borough Council has furthermore provided us with another area of focus, bounded by Marine Road, Princes Drive, Penrhyn Road and Abergele Road/Conway Road. On receipt of a detailed plan, we undertook an analysis of the local area which included undertaking a property level characterisation of all properties.
6.12 Land Acquisition Opportunities.
To date we have analysed the data collected as part of our baseline information database, and drawn basic conclusions in relation to the property market in each of the individual areas. We have prepared a matrix upon which we can quickly move to assessing land assembly costs, issues and opportunities in relation to the areas and sub areas which have been provisionally identified as targeted areas. We are aware that a number of properties have already been acquired by the public sector are subject to negotiations.
6.13 External inspections of all properties have been undertaken during early 2010 and a photographic database completed. For an area of this size there appear to be few vacant residential properties and only a few vacant retail units. From our experience in other regeneration areas we would have anticipated more vacant properties within the Colwyn Bay Housing renewal area, and within the additional areas studied.
6.14 No internal inspections have been carried out and we have not entered into discussions with any of the owners or occupiers of properties identified.
6.15 Recommendations include:
Increased coordination between agencies currently involved in the regeneration of Colwyn Bay. In particular, RSLs such as Pennaf need be working in tandem with both the Welsh Assembly Government and Conwy County Borough Council. 6.16 Agreeing the areas to be specifically targeted. As this report has highlighted, a number of proposed schemes and works have been proposed for Colwyn Bay. Whilst it is anticipated a number of such schemes will go ahead, there needs to be priority sites and a timeframe for future development, so that certain sites can be prioritised and early strikes captured.
6.17 The priority area should be that of the retail centre, over and above the 'Housing Renewal Area' and 'Additional Areas Considered', albeit being pursued in conjunction with the upgrading of the Promenade and Eirias Park. It is believed that the 'Housing Renewal Area' and 'Additional Areas Considered' could be upgraded within the medium term, with a much more interim solution required.
6.18 In terms of priorities within the 'Retail Core', the reconfiguration of the Bay View shopping centre, which will forge the link between Sea View Road and Station Road, and the improvements to the square fronting Colwyn Bay Station should be given the greater priority in relation to the other schemes considered. The proposed office development on the site would form part of this recommendation also.
6.19 The acquisition strategy will have to respond to the delivery targets specified above, and it is therefore recommended that the strategy responds to the retail elements described above, and the requirements of the town centre. Acquisitions of selective properties along Station Road and Sea View Road will be required, in conjunction with any land or buildings located along Ivy Street which will be required in order to facilitate the proposed development.
6.20 The need for concentrated spatial targeting. Whilst it is acknowledged previous acquisitions have been spatially coordinated and concentrated within a small area, especially for properties currently acquired to the south eastern section of Lawson Road, we must stress the need to allocate resources towards concentrated properties within a pre-defined location. Sporadic purchases of properties may constrain future development options and limit future budgets.
6.21 In some instances, the ad hoc piecemeal approach, acquiring properties as and when they come to market may work, provided they fit into a coordinated action plan for the area. If wholesale changes are not required for an area, such an approach may function fairly efficiently, as properties are acquired and converted to a standard which the acquiring authority sees fit. However, in this instance, spatial coordination must be a prerequisite should the specific plans outlined by Shape be given the green light
