£60m Riverside Revival Offers over 300 New Jobs for Totnes

Proposals for Baltic Wharf Riverside Revival, a £60 million scheme to revitalise a run-down 13-acre brownfield site near Totnes town centre, have been published by owners TQ9 Partnership today.

The scheme will create over 300 new jobs on top of the 100 existing jobs on site, and could double the number of marine-related posts at Baltic Wharf.

The revival of Baltic Wharf will also provide affordable housing, a retirement community and improved public access to the river and countryside in a well-designed and highly sustainable scheme. Public exhibitions detailing the plans will be held in Totnes in May.

An expanded Marine Centre will be created alongside the boatyard to house existing marine businesses as well as enabling a large increase in marine employment. The boatyard area will provide an equivalent amount of open storage space to that which exists now. Other non-marine jobs on the site will also largely be retained.

The massive employment increase overall will be achieved by replacing the existing open sheds with 13,500m² of new employment accommodation, including new purpose-built offices, light industrial buildings, a new retirement community, the enhanced Marine Centre, plus marine and other shops.

The proposals allow for unprecedented public access to the riverside. The quayside will be opened to the public for the first time. The plans also include an attractive plaza where townspeople and visitors will be able to enjoy a drink or meal. Access to nearby countryside walks and cycle ways will be greatly improved.

An important part of the mix is a continuing care retirement community, which will offer private living accommodation for 160 retired people with supporting services designed to flexibly meet changing personal needs. Provided by Retirement Villages Limited, the proposed community includes a registered care home and separate assisted living units, supported by full domiciliary care services. An extensive range of social and leisure facilities will be available.

All of the ambitious proposals for Baltic Wharf are underpinned by high-quality and sustainable design principles, including low-carbon technology and renewable energy. Feasibility studies are being undertaken on a wood-chip boiler and a combined heat and power plant. The owners have offered to work with sustainability leaders to create a Sustainability Visitor Centre featuring an exemplar carbon negative building.

The proposals also include 90 affordable homes, with over 50 homes for rent and the remainder ‘shared equity’ that aim to be truly affordable for local people. Funding for the scheme will come from 90 open market homes, without which the overall scheme cannot be delivered.

Public exhibitions on the draft proposals are to be held at Baltic Wharf on Wednesday 14 May and at Birdwood House in the centre of Totnes on Saturday 17 May.

Baltic Wharf is owned by TQ9 Partnership. Comprising three local families, TQ9 Partnership purchased the site in September 2006. The scheme is being led by award-winning Totnes architects, Harris Sutton Partnership (HSP), cementing the strong Totnes-based credentials of the project.

Currently home to the Baltic Wharf Boatyard and a number of other businesses employing around 100 people in total, much of the site is under-used and many of the existing buildings are unsightly and of poor quality.

The Baltic Wharf site became known worldwide in the 1990s when it was used by Pete Goss to build his revolutionary but ill-fated 120-foot Team Philips catamaran.

Previous owners were granted permission in 1996 for an employment-only scheme but this was never implemented. It is now recognised that brownfield developments such as Baltic Wharf require some open market housing to subsidise the cost of employment development and building affordable homes.

In October 2007, South Hams District Council highlighted Baltic Wharf as one of the top sites in Totnes prime for regeneration. The Baltic Wharf proposals fulfil many of South Hams District Council’s key priorities for development and will make use of one of the town’s major brownfield sites. It is expected that work on site could begin in 2010 with the scheme taking several years to complete in phases.

A newsletter is to be circulated door to door to the local community, discussion focus groups set up and a dedicated website has been established at www.balticwharf.co.uk/revival as part of the public consultation events, helping shape the proposals prior to any planning application being submitted.

Steve Mittler, Managing Partner of the TQ9 Partnership, comments: “Baltic Wharf is a major brownfield site that has enormous potential to make a valuable contribution towards the Totnes economy and community. In its current neglected state, the site is clearly failing to live up to that potential and doesn’t offer the local community enough.

“We are particularly proud to have been able to produce a workable proposal that includes the highest possible number of jobs. By providing housing on this brownfield site, it will relieve pressure on greenfield land elsewhere in the town.

“The combination of expanding the marine industry, massive new employment opportunities and mixed housing will regenerate, refresh and make far better use of this area, benefiting local families and local employers alike. As local people ourselves, we want Baltic Wharf to become successful once again. We are seeking local support to help us achieve this.”

Henry Osborne, Director of Meritex International Freight Services Ltd, which is based at Baltic Wharf, commented: “I am very pleased that Baltic Wharf Ltd is to expand the amount of office space on site. There is a real requirement for offices with parking in Totnes. The proposals being put forward will provide more facilities for existing businesses as well as creating space for companies that are looking for premises.”

Tim Jones, Chairman of Devon & Cornwall Business Council said: “It is welcome news that this vital commercial development is now progressing.  Totnes forms an important part of the Devon economy and the recent losses at Dairy Crest, Totnes and Dartington Art College have proved to be disappointing news, particularly because of the inevitable impact on jobs. This proposal for Baltic Wharf should prove to be a major boost to the local economy with not only opportunities for a wide range of employment growth but the further injection of capital investment into this crucial waterfront area."

“Coming at a time when the commercial property market is suffering from the overall impact of the credit crunch the owners should be congratulated on bringing this site forward.”

BALTIC WHARF RIVERSIDE REVIVAL -- Key Benefits Summary

1) Provide new purpose-built employment space, increasing from 100 to over 400 the number of job opportunities on site;

2) Invest in an expanded Marine Centre and boatyard of equivalent size, retaining the marine-related and the majority of other businesses already working on site in new accommodation;

3) Open up public access to the riverside and surrounding countryside, creating new public spaces on the site;

4) Create a residential retirement community to meet a range of needs for up to 160 elderly people;

5) Build 90 affordable homes to meet the town’s housing needs, with houses for rent and some for shared ownership that are genuinely affordable to local people;

6) Use renewable energy and environmentally friendly building techniques, potentially including a wood-chip boiler and combined heat and power (CHP) plant, to ensure the project has the lowest possible carbon footprint; creating an exemplar Sustainability Visitor Centre helping to cement Totnes’ reputation as a leading sustainable town;

7) Fund the scheme through the provision of 90 open market homes;

8) Provide options for sustainable travel in a green travel plan that could include new bus links and a car pool club;

9) Utilise high-quality building design and landscaping on the site;

10)  Building on a brownfield site will relieve pressure on other greenfield land elsewhere in the town.

Site History

1891-1995 - Reeves timber yard. (In its heyday Reeves employed hundreds of people although this had dwindled to a handful by the time it closed.)
1996   Planning application approved for 15,000m² employment space.
1998-2001 - Pete Goss built his revolutionary but ill-fated 120-foot Team Philips catamaran.
2000 -  Planning permission renewed but never implemented as scheme impossible to achieve.