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Mixed-use redevelopment opportunityApprox. 0.4 hectares (1 acre)

Coinagehall Street, Penzance, Cornwall

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IntroductionCoinagehall Street is a prime mixed use redevelopment opportunity, representing a vital part of the local community’s and Cornwall Council’s shared vision for the regeneration of Penzance town centre. The Council is seeking an exemplar scheme which utilises the site’s key location and sea views to create a new destination and focal point within the town, harmonising with and complementing the surrounding Conservation Area. With a building of an appropriate massing, form structure, design, layout, mix of uses and relationship with the existing built environment, the redevelopment of Coinagehall Street offers a unique moment to create an exciting and prestigious addition to the townscape of Penzance.

Having regard to the site’s location it is considered suitable for a high quality mixed use development incorporating a range of uses, including employment space, offices, leisure, retail, residential and high quality hotel. The combination of these uses is intended to create an attractive and vibrant scheme generating skilled employment opportunities together with significant economic outputs and promoting strong links to the town, harbour and promenade, whilst becoming a destination in its own right. It is anticipated that a redeveloped Coinagehall Street will act as a catalyst for wider regeneration around Penzance.

LocationPenzance lies at the south western tip of Cornwall, approximately 10 miles east of Lands End, 8 miles south of St. Ives and 27 miles south west of Truro. It is a harbour town and a major interchange for local rail, road and bus networks. Two links with the Isles of Scilly operate from the harbour. The A30 links Penzance with the M5 at Exeter, and the town is conveniently placed to take advantage of flights available from Newquay Airport.

Penzance and the neighbouring town of Newlyn have a combined population of approximately 21,000, and provide the main retail offer for West Cornwall, together with a wide range of leisure, commercial and business services.

The SiteThe site is held freehold by Cornwall Council and located in an area which connects the main seafront promenade and the harbour with the centre of Penzance via the historic route of Quay Street and Chapel Street. Coinagehall Street is situated opposite Jubilee Pool, a Grade II listed art deco lido which will shortly benefit from a substantial investment package of repairs and refurbishment. The eastern section of the site adjacent to Barbican Lane has been cleared and is used for parking, whilst the remainder is largely occupied by the former Vospers garage complex and is currently licensed to the PZ Gallery.

Planning ContextThe site offers a rare opportunity to create an important new destination on the seafront in Penzance that establishes strong pedestrian connections with the town centre, harbour and promenade, and acts as a focus for the town’s creative industries sector.

Although the site benefits from an historic permission for residential development the Council now wishes to promote it as a mixed-use opportunity which creates economic activity and emerges as a recognisable destination in its own right. Any scheme at Coinagehall Street will be expected to act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of Penzance and promote the creation of high quality employment in sectors that benefit the town. In particular attention should be focussed upon the ‘smart specialisations’ referred to in the section on Funding below. Key to achieving this objective will be establishing active and attractive street frontages by introducing small scale commercial, employment, leisure and retail premises on the ground floor together with employment, residential and potentially hotel uses on the upper floors.

There are no listed buildings within the site area but Coinagehall Street is known to contain physical and archaeological remains of some of the earliest buildings in Penzance which will need to be considered and addressed within a scheme design. Development of this site will impact on the skyline of the headland and be visible from many vantage points in and around Mounts Bay, including the views enjoyed by waterborne visitors. A high quality and well considered design response is therefore essential, which complements the wider conservation area and ensures that any development is harmonious with the roof and townscape in this highly visible and prominent location.

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FundingCornwall and the Isles of Scilly will receive €613m of European funding for the programme period of 2014 to 2020, through the Growth Programme, which should become operational during the summer of 2015. The European Structural Investment Fund (ESIF) Strategy has been developed by local partners, with support from Cornwall Council and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (the LEP), and it provides detail on the activity which the Growth Programme is looking to support. The EU strategy is consistent with the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and both documents focus on three strategic priorities:

Future Economy

Growth for Business

Conditions for Growth

It is envisaged that some elements of a mixed use development on the Coinagehall Street site could well be consistent with the EU Programme’s aspirations. Activity eligible for support from the EU Programme could include the creation of high quality workspace and investment in Cornwall’s identified ‘smart specialisation’ sectors – marine tech, agri-tech, the digital economy, space/aerospace and e-health.

Useful links, provided below, are to: -

The draft National (England) Operational Programme for ERDF - http://www.erdfconvergence.org.uk/growth-programme/. This document has not yet been signed off by Brussels, but it sets out the draft strategy for the England Programme

The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly LEP website - www.cornwallandislesofscillylep.com. Copies of both the ESIF Strategy and the SEP for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly can be accessed from this link.

The initial workspace call - SME support: call in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Workplace. This first call has now closed, but future calls are expected shortly and this initial call should give a feel for the types of workspace projects which the programme is looking to support.

Cornwall Council has significant experience of accessing EU funds and support will be provided to the successful bidder if it is seeking to access EU funding for EU eligible activity on the site.

Further enquiries regarding the EU funding programme can be addressed to the LEP on info@cornwallandislesofscillylep.com or 01872 224214. Alternatively, enquiries regarding funding may also be addressed to Len Smith, Strategic Economic Programme Lead in the Economic Development and Culture team at Cornwall Council, on 07968 892940.

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Interested parties may wish to consider the possibility of incorporating the adjoining elements of St Anthony Gardens located immediately to the south of the site, not currently utilised for car parking, within their proposals for Coinagehall Street, although this approach is entirely optional. Whilst the gardens must be preserved as public open space, there is scope to enhance the public realm, introduce imaginative and creative uses, which could include the staging of public events, and improve the linkages and relationship between the main site, the gardens and Jubilee Pool.

Jubilee Pool is currently undergoing a significant refurbishment which will protect and reinvigorate the asset for the long term, providing a financially sustainable future. The Jubilee Pool Steering Group and Partners are currently exploring the feasibility of developing a Geothermal Project to potentially heat facilities and a section of the Jubilee Pool. This would maximise the impact of the initial investment, further contributing to the long terms sustainability of the asset, and also reinforce the pool’s role in the wider economic and physical regeneration of Penzance.

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Urban DesignThe availability of the Coinagehall Street site is a rare chance to create a new and prestigious contribution to Penzance’s townscape, taking full advantage of its prominent position and opportunities afforded by the vistas across Mounts Bay. The Tate in St Ives and the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth are two recent examples of bold, iconic architecture which has generated significant benefits for the host town, and it is considered that the site at Coinagehall Street has the potential to create a similar impact in Penzance.

We set out below the key urban design issues which bidders should respond to in their scheme proposals:

The development offers the opportunity to restore a sense of place and to stitch back together a somewhat fragmented piece of townscape. The site should become a place to visit, live and work i.e. a destination in its own right, and not just a link or service area between the promenade, harbour and town centre. It should offer active, attractive and inviting street frontages, and an architectural form that draws its inspiration from, and sits comfortably with, the roof and townscape surrounding it.

The context of the site includes significant historic buildings, such as St Mary’s Church, as well as impressive sea views; those of particular note are the main ridge of the Penzance headland, the backdrops to the harbour and the delightful Jubilee Pool. The development is therefore an exciting design challenge to respect and respond to this unique context in an innovative way.

The headland upon which the Coinagehall Street site is situated slopes down to the coast and it is

evident that the building rooflines have reflected this change of level, stepping down the hill with the topography. It should also be noted that the existing townscape in Penzance displays a strong vertical emphasis; a fine-grain geometry and rhythm that together with a broken roof line expresses and accentuates the town’s topography.

Bidders should undertake a thorough and detailed urban design analysis of the town and the setting of the site. The former should include and begin with the wider context of the coastal setting, in particular picking up on view points of this headland both from outside and within the town, in order to establish an appropriate three dimensional envelope for the proposed development. Penzance sits in the centre of Mounts Bay and as a consequence is visible from very long distances on land and from the sea. Focussing on the setting, a more conventional urban analysis of the closer environs of the site will illustrate the key urban qualities of the existing fabric which will inform and influence any new development.

If proposals include a central space or courtyard then it is considered important that the space has a properly identified function and purpose. The design of such a space should take account of local prevailing winds and the track of the sun.All submissions must include drawings or images which properly capture and represent the scale, massing and design of any proposed development on the site together with key views illustrating how any new building will sit within the context of the existing urban landscape.

Development ProposalsThe Council intends to undertake a structured development competition which will involve bidders preparing scheme designs and financial offers supported by supplementary information which we summarise below:

Deliverability strategy (which in particular addresses the planning and community engagement strategy)

Principal points of contact (including details of partner organisations where a consortium bid is made)

Details of professional team

Scheme layout drawings including sections, elevations and floor area schedules)

Financial offer (supported by funding strategy)

Conditions

Development appraisal (highlighting key value and cost assumptions)

Project programme (which incorporates key milestone dates)

Relevant examples of track record (including mixed use schemes and schemes delivered through public/private partnerships)

Bidders are requested to submit one electronic copy in CD format together with three hard copies of their proposal by midday on 27 November 2015 to the address listed below.

It is intended that a disposal will be structured on the basis that the Council retains the freehold interest in the site until an agreed scheme has been completed to the Council’s satisfaction and in accordance with the relevant planning consent.

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Strategic Road Network in Cornwall

KeyStrategic Road Network (Trunk roads)

Primary ‘A’ Roads

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If you would like this information in another format or language please contact:Cornwall Council, County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro TR1 3AYTelephone: 0300 1234 100Email: enquiries@cornwall.gov.uk www.cornwall.gov.uk

Printed on recycled paper. JN39008 06/15

Disposal TimeframeCommence marketing – October 2015

Mid Point Clarification Meeting – early November 2015

Submission Closing Date – 27 November 2015

Clarification Period – early December 2015

Shortlisting and Best and – December 2015 Final Offer (if applicable)

Reporting – January 2016

Selection of Preferred Bidder – January 2016

During the preparation of submissions the Council intends to offer bidders the opportunity to attend a Mid Point Clarification Meeting where emerging scheme proposals can be discussed with Council’s project team.

Selection CriteriaWe set out below the proposed criteria for shortlisting and final selection of the preferred bidder:

Scheme Design - 30%

Economic Outputs - 30%

Deliverability - 20%

Mix of uses - 10%

Relevant Experience - 10%

The Council will engage the Design Review Panel, an impartial, multi-disciplinary panel of construction professionals in the field of the built environment, to provide objective advice and guidance during the process of evaluating submissions received and selecting a preferred bidder.

Viewing and Contact DetailsFor further information please contact Garry Becconsall , Estates Delivery, Room A3.02 Carrick House, Pydar Street, Truro TR1 1EB.

Telephone either 01872 323829 or 07891 840548 or e-mail gbecconsall@cornwall.gov.uk

DisclaimersThese particulars are a guide only the accuracy is not guaranteed and they should not be relied upon for any purpose, they do not form any part of any contact. Please contact the office if there is anything of particular importance to you to check information particularly if travelling some distance or commissioning services.

Please NoteServices, equipment or appliances on the property or land have not been tested and we strongly advice prospective purchases make their own enquiries to their suitability prior to finalising any offer to purchase. All measurements are approximate and are intended for guidance only.