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Brimscombe Port FAQs

The vision for Brimscombe Port is to deliver a sustainable new residential-led mixed use development with a reinstated canal and canal basin at its heart, that meets the needs of both existing and future residents. By responding to the site’s unique characteristics with innovative and inspiring design; the Council aspires to create an exemplar scheme that integrates with the existing surroundings and improves and expands upon the site’s constraints and opportunities to enhance resident’s daily life.

      The six objectives for the site are to:

  1. Create a distinctive and memorable place, appropriate to its context and history with a strong character and identity;
  2. Build sustainable, energy efficient buildings and low impact development that minimises harm to the environment;
  3. Create a vibrant and inclusive community that provides for a range of ages, affordability and demographics;
  4. Create and integrate landscape comprehensively, enhancing biodiversity and creating new habitats that bring nature into the site;
  5. Encourage wellness and healthy lifestyles through the new open spaces and enhance existing cycling and walking routes within and connecting the site to neighbouring destinations.
  6. Create a financially sustainable canal to ensure the ongoing quality of the waterside setting.

The impact of this site cannot be underestimated in terms of its importance to the whole redevelopment of the valley, and the economic and strategic benefits to the area, acting as a catalyst for other development along the canal.  It creates a destination for canal tourism, not only for the local canal network but also for the whole canal system, a nationally important landmark destination.

Historically Brimscombe Port was the country’s largest inland port, created to transfer goods from large sea going Severn Trows to Thames barges to navigate the narrower canal to the east. This link was promoted by local clothiers as well as London merchants to link with the Midlands. The Stroudwater Canal was finished in 1779 and the Thames and Severn Canal a decade later in 1789.  Amazingly for that era the Port was capable of handling 100 vessels at a time.

Following the decline in canals the Port became redundant. The canal was in-filled in after the Second World War and the site developed as an industrial estate during the 1960/70’s.

Some historic buildings survive, including the Salt Warehouse and the Port Mill. Both are listed and charming stone buildings. Much of the site still acts as an industrial estate but has become unattractive and is showing signs of its age.

Initially Brimscombe Port was part of Phase 1a of the Cotswold Canal Restoration project, the original aim of which was to reinstate the canals from Stonehouse ‘Ocean’ to Brimscombe Port. The port was acquired in 2009 from British Waterways by Stroud Valleys Canal Company with grant funding from the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA); the expectation at that time was that it would deliver both a redeveloped port and provide funding for other sections of the canal.

After the property crash in 2009, subsequent marketing proved the site to be unviable without additional public investment. Phase 1a of the canal project was scaled back to finish at Bowbridge while additional funds were sought for the Port.

The site is now owned by Stroud District Council and is allocated in the Council’s Local Plan for 150 homes and is within the Industrial Heritage Conservation Area, being of significant cultural and historical value. It comprises part of the proposed reinstated Cotswold Canal and basin and so is unable to be developed for a non-canal related scheme. Once complete the Port will be the destination at the eastern end of the canal.

In 2015 the Council was successful in securing £2m from Homes England. The Council has since committed £2.9m to the project and has also received Land Release Funding through One Public Estate in the sum of £776k. Together these contributions have made the redevelopment more viable and has enabled a Developer to be selected to create a unique waterside attraction.

Due to the high abnormal costs of the site arising from the need for remediation of contaminated land, deculverting of the river and the re-instatement of the canal infrastructure the project has been split into two phases.

The essential infrastructure to deliver Phase 1 includes the canal, basin, deculverted River Frome and a new access road off the A419. The reinstatement of the canal and basin, together with the raising of the level of the Port is required for flood alleviation measures to enable a residential led mixed use scheme to be delivered, which is also part of Phase 1.

Phase 2 will connect the redeveloped Port to the canal network with a canal and river crossing under Brimscombe Hill with corresponding alterations to the highway, including road and bridge works.

The design of the infrastructure for both phase 1 and 2 has been carried out by Atkins and has involved extensive hydrological modelling and liaison with the Environment Agency to ensure that the design does indeed take the site out of the flood plain but also demonstrates that there are no detrimental impacts downstream. Further canal re-instatement will then link to the canal beyond Canal Ironworks.

Once the canal infrastructure is constructed it will be transferred to Stroud Valleys Canal Company (SVCC) to own and manage with the rest of the reinstated Cotswold Canals.

Brimscombe Port is the destination at the eastern end of the Stroudwater Canal. The canal is being restored and a large section from Stonehouse through Stroud has been completed which is showing the amazing and wide-ranging benefits that the canal brings to the area. Stroud District Council and its partners have secured £8.9 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards connecting Stonehouse Ocean to Saul Junction with the Cotswold Canals Connected project which will link the canal to the National Canal network.

More funding will be required to deliver the next stage of the project, but once a new bridge and canal and river crossing are constructed under Brimscombe Hill and the missing length of canal to Stroud Brewery is reinstated the Port will then connect to the national canal network. Completing this penultimate section of canal will also mean that Stroud is one step closer to delivering a hugely important and previously lost heritage asset that provides an excellent national leisure attraction and a unique springboard for regeneration and sustainable economic development throughout the district.

This is an exemplar canal, heritage and biodiversity project, creating post-COVID regeneration, health and wellbeing and bringing economic, tourism and sustainable transport benefits to the whole district and wider area.

 

The original wish of the community to see the Port redeveloped, with a significant port basin, connected canal and mixed-use development was generated through community consultation in 2003-2005 and was described as ‘putting the heart back into Brimscombe’.

The site has been included in the Stroud District Local Plan for many years and consulted on as part of the local plan process. It is expected to deliver the canal restoration, a minimum of 150 homes, some commercial and community space.

The design of the enabling infrastructure, mainly comprising the canal and basin, new bridge, canal/river crossing and a new access into the site, is largely fixed by the need to comply with the Environment Agency and Highway Authority’s requirements, to deliver a navigable canal for SVCC and to meet the physical constraints of the site. Options to achieve this and to take the site out of flood risk are very limited and the engineering solution has been designed by Atkins.

The vision for the site is set out in the Output Specification . This was formed building on early community consultation and in discussions with the different stakeholders (e.g Parish Council, SVCC, District Councillors, Homes England) and tested with developers, and is set within the policy requirements of the (District) Local Plan

Following the receipt of planning approval for the demolition and infrastructure and Listed Building Consent on 24 March 2021, demolition of all of the buildings is now complete. This work was run concurrently with the procurement process for the selection of a Developer to ensure the infrastructure works can be programmed around ecology seasons, i.e. avoiding the main bat activity season for demolition of key buildings and the timing of when works can be done in the river. This will enable the Council to offer the developer a cleared site and will minimise the periods of time when nothing is happening on site. St Modwen Homes will be firming up their more detailed development programme for the next steps in the redevelopment proposals and this will be shared in due course.

The Council considered various options to deliver the redevelopment of the Port, which ranged from selling the land on the open market, and not having any further involvement in the site, to redeveloping the site itself. The decision was to follow a middle position to seek a Developer to work with the Council to see the ambitious vision for the Port realised.

As a public body, the Council is required to follow the European Procurement Rules, which have been enshrined in UK procurement legislation (so did not change with Brexit).  Expressions of interest were sought, interested parties shortlisted and the shortlisted bidders taken through an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) competitive dialogue process. Competitive dialogue is a public-sector tendering option that allows for bidders to develop alternative proposals in response to a client’s outline requirements. Once their proposals were developed to sufficient detail, tenderers were invited to submit competitive bids. The aims were to increase development quality by encouraging innovation and to maintain competitive pressure in bidding for complex contracts.

The rules for the process are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and needed to be adhered to closely as any divergence could have left the Council open to legal challenge, which can be very expensive and time consuming to respond to. The process had to adhere to the core principles of fairness, transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality.

Once the bids had been developed to sufficient detail, tenderers were invited to submit competitive bids by providing responses to the Council’s tender evaluation criteria. These were scored by officers with specialist knowledge in those topic areas together with the Council’s consultants. This resulted in a preferred bidder, St Modwen Homes, who was approved by members at Strategy and Resources Committee on 12th July 2022.

Important issues such as quality of design, affordable housing, energy efficiency, sustainability and social value all form part of this criteria along with a sound business plan and a track record of delivering similar projects.

Public funding is required to ensure the viability of the site due to the abnormally high infrastructure costs.

The Council has already invested £1 million in the project to de risk the site together with a further £1.6 million of capital funding approved in April 2018 and the surplus income off the Port from the current tenancies on the site. A £2 million loan from Homes England has also been secured and the Council has received Land Release Funding through One Public Estate in the sum of £776K. This funding assists with the viability of this complex project and provided developers with more confidence when putting forward their proposals.

Private sector investment is required to carry out the redevelopment proposals (build the houses, commercial and public spaces), and hence the procurement of a Developer who can bring this finance to the project.

Free land or space for community facilities will be made available to the local community as part of the redevelopment. The Parish Council consulted on a vision document for the facilities and the Council is working with the Parish Council to decide how the cost of the construction and fitting out can be funded, managed and run.

Planning permission is being sought in two steps.

Planning approval for the enabling infrastructure (canal basin, canal infrastructure, access road, flood assessment) and demolition was granted on the 24 March 2021 together with Listed Building consent for the demolition of the modern buildings attached to the listed Mill building, which will remain.

The planning application for the overall redevelopment of the Port (design and lay-out of buildings, numbers of homes, commercial space, communal areas etc) will be prepared and submitted by the Developer now that they have been selected. The first public meeting was held on the 10 August 2022. The second public consultation, prior to the application being submitted, will take place after the 2023 summer holidays via drop-in/ comments and further pre-application consultation with the Local Planning Authority will be undertaken.  People will also be able to make comments on the planning portal once the application has been submitted.

The OJEU competitive dialogue tender process is prescribed by legislation and the ultimate decision was made by the Council at its Strategy and Resources Committee on 12th July 2022, with recommendations from specialist officers.

Individuals and local groups can make their views known through the planning process and in consultation / engagement prior to the application being submitted. Community organisations were able to be part of consortia bidding to be the Developer for the Port. There are additional opportunities for being involved in developing the proposed community facilities or developing social enterprises in the commercial space of the development.

Individuals can also be involved by volunteering with CCT or the Council to work on many different activities linked to the canal.

Vacant possession of the units was required by the end of June 2021 to meet the funding milestones as all the units needed to be demolished to enable the redevelopment to take place. Many of the businesses have already relocated. Only the tenants in the Port Mill can remain throughout, as this building will not be affected by the redevelopment of the Port.

The redevelopment plans include the construction of new community facilities and the Council will work with partners to encourage community organisations to establish and thrive in this new venue. There will also be new commercial space available to let in the new development that may be suitable for social enterprise.

There will be strict milestones and deadline dates in the agreement with our Developer to drive delivery but there will still be periods when it seems like nothing is happening on the ground.  This is inevitable with any redevelopment of this scale and complexity, whilst planning is sought, contracts are agreed and mobilisation takes place. There are also only certain times of the year when works to the river and on site can take place, due to various species which are present and need to be protected or relocated. The current challenging national economic conditions and their impact on the property market has led to some delays to the initial programme. However, the council has been working closely with St Modwen Homes on the plans to bring forward this exciting development to realise our vision for the site and continue to progress the Brimscombe Port development.

Regular Information Sheets providing updates on the project are on the Council’s website. Comments and questions can also be submitted here and public questions can be submitted prior to meetings of the Strategy and Resources Committee.