Lower Heathcote Local Centre, Warwick - Appointment/Planning Granted
Posted on November 16, 2020
Warwick District Council has unanimously approved plans to create a Mixed-Use Local Centre including new offices for L&Q Estates.
LSP Developments, has been appointed by L&Q Estates to develop the Lower Heathcote Local Centre which is situated adjacent to Heathcote Primary School at the junction of Harbury Lane and Vickers Way, Warwick. The scheme will feature new offices for L&Q Estates, a convenience store anchored by Heart of England Co-op, with four additional retail units, a care home, a children’s day nursery to be operated by Little Pioneers for up to 100 youngsters, a central public square and cycle parking, footpaths and landscaping. Around 70 jobs will be created at the three-storey care home which will provide 75 en-suite bedrooms, lounges, dining rooms, a library, activities room, a cinema room and hair salon. The Local Centre is aimed at serving the needs of residents who live in the urban extension south of Lower Heathcote on land south of Harbury Lane, which is allocated for 1,605 new homes within Warwick District Council’s Local Plan.
Harris Irwin Architects designed this much needed Local Centre creating connectivity between the different use classes whilst maintaining separate plots in their own right. Harris Irwin Architect Andy Plaice said: “We are delighted to have received planning permission for this exciting scheme, which will provide a real heart to the new community which is being created in this part of Warwickshire. The local centre will provide a well-designed vibrant facility with a range of uses that will support and encourage day and evening activity, and benefit a wide cross section of the community, from young children and families, through to elderly people in need of high-quality residential care. Our design will create a central hub for the community creating a real sense of place and whilst still being sympathetic to the existing local environment."
Pegasus Group provided planning services to support the application, including the provision of a retail impact assessment and town centre sequential assessment focusing on the retail and office uses. Ben Cook, principal planner at Pegasus Group’s Birmingham office, said: “The retail units and care home have been designed around a focal ‘public square’ which will help to create vitality and natural surveillance throughout the day and into the evening.” Ian Hardwick, managing director of Warwick-based L&Q Estates, said: “It was great to receive unanimous support for the planning application which will create a real community focal point in this area of Warwick. “Work will now begin in the New Year to provide the additional services which residents need on a day-to-day basis.” Ed Sutton, managing director at LSP Developments, added: “The scheme is testament to partnership working, not only with L&Q Estates, but wider stakeholders to include Warwick District Council and most importantly local residents. We have worked hard through the current pandemic to provide a scheme that caters for all age groups and will create a vibrant centre at the heart of the community. Localism has really come to the fore in recent times not just as a result of Covid-19, but residents on large housing developments have shown a need for a range of local amenities, which also provides for a number of sustainable benefits. Lower Heathcote is a great example of this not only with the proposed Local Centre and Country Park, but also the proximity of the primary school.”
