Hockley Area Action Plan Options Report

Ended on the 4 February 2011

(187) 6. Spatial option 2

Spatial option 2 provides a slightly higher level of intervention in the centre, in order to strengthen the uses in the centre and provide greater improvements to the public realm. The key elements of option two can be summarised as:

Development and land uses

Providing shop front improvements to the units on the retail stretch of Spa Road and the central sections of Main Road and Southend Road.
Replacement of the warehouse style building at 2 Main Road with a new shop units and a small number of homes to provide stronger frontage to the historic centre of Hockley.
Replacement of the former Alldays building with new shops with flats above.
Replacement of one building in Eldon Way with a new light industry/business start-up/public sector offices employment space, fronting a new parking square.
Creation of new leisure space, potentially to accommodate a skating use, which has potential in the area and new small retailers.
Consolidation of existing leisure uses on Eldon Way on the western section of the area, to avoid a conflict of uses.
Frontage improvements to the existing leisure buildings on Eldon Way and the central island buildings facing this.
Consolidation of the Hockley centre, so that the poorly performing retail unit on Main Road can be transferred to housing, if appropriate.
Redevelopment of the existing library and health centre to provide a new combined community centre with library and health facilities and shop units fronting Southend Road.
A new home on Spa Road, close to the train station.

Traffic and parking

Creation of a new parking area on the south side of the train station, for weekday commuters and weekend shoppers, with vehicular drop-off and pick-up points moving from the roundabout to here.
Narrowing of the train station roundabout, to prevent waiting here.
Creation of a new parking square for the short-term, fronted by shops and offices.This would be landscaped to provide a pleasant environment.
Increasing the amount of parallel on-street parking on Spa Road.
Consider the potential to open the western entrance to Potters car park, to help ease congestion at the Spa roundabout. Cars entering and exiting the car park from the west would no longer need to use the roundabout and Spa Road to access the car park, relieving congestion at this point.This would need to be subject to further testing.

Movement and public realm

Improvements to the train station frontage and the public realm to provide a real front entrance to the station.
Establishing a pedestrian link between the train station and Eldon Way employment area.
Enhancing the green pedestrian link between Bramerton Road and Eldon Way.
Provide paving and streetscape improvements to the retail core of Hockley, on Spa Road, Main Road and Southend Road to strengthen the presence and profile of the centre.
Tree planting along Spa Road and other key areas.
Providing table-top crossings for pedestrians at secondary road junctions on Spa Road.
Providing a large table top crossing at the northern end of Woodlands Road, to help create a public space at the Spa roundabout, the historic core to Hockley.
Enhancing the public realm at the new combined community centre on Southend Road.
Strengthening the link between Spa Road and Eldon Way.
Creating a green link between Spa Road and Southend Road, through the churchyard.
Enhancing the environment and improving safety in front of the existing leisure uses in Eldon Way.

(160) Option 2a

Potential issues

The scheme requires the removal of an existing building in Eldon Way

The scheme requires the support and cooperation of land owners within the centre

The scheme includes the replacement of the library and health centre with similar uses, which may be challenging to fund

The scheme moves parking access on Spa Road to Eldon Way, which will increase the use of these roads

The scheme has a large number of public realm improvements and lower number of developments, which may prove challenging to finance

The scheme has potential for greater impact on Hockley’s character, though if managed carefully, this could be a positive impact

Benefits

This scheme preserves the character of Hockley, with limited development intervention in the centre

The scheme improves parking capacity and accessibility in the centre

The scheme supports the commercial health of the centre, providing a small amount of new retail which can complement but not threaten existing retailers

The scheme provides flexible employment space, preserving Eldon Way as an employment and leisure area

The scheme provides new leisure space which could accommodate a skating use (currently seeking space in the area) and which connects well with the existing leisure uses

The scheme strengthens community uses in the centre

The scheme has the potential to cross fund public realm improvements in the centre

The scheme strengthens links between Spa Road and Eldon Way

Option 2a is the same as option 2, with a slightly greater level of intervention on Spa Road. In this option, the Somerfield/Co-op store and houses above these and the post office sorting offices are replaced by new retail units with homes above, which can help to provide quality retail space and can strengthen the links between Spa Road and Eldon Way further, with the creation of a new small public space.

Additional homes are provided on the site of the sorting office, to help improve the environment here and complement the existing housing opposite on Eldon Way.

The replaced warehouse buildings at 34-40 Spa Road are included in this option, highlighting the modular nature of the options.

Axonometric visualisations of option 2

Axonometric visualisations of option 2a

Photomontage of option 2a

This photomontage provides an indication of the potential character along Spa Road following the interventions suggested in option 2a.This includes public realm improvements to Spa Road itself, with improved on-street parking and the replacement of Alldays and the row of shops including Somerfield (Co-op) with new shops and homes above these.

Option 2 public realm investment detail

Detail on the public realm investment is provided on these pages. Distinct areas have been identified which would be likely to come forward either with development areas or as public realm investment projects.The project areas have been lettered and detail on the proposed improvements is set out in the table below.

Site	Public realm description	Floor area (Red line area minus road area receiving no new treatment)
A	Extension of paving along Main Road and Southend Road from Spa Road roundabout. On street parking along Spa Road on paved surface and slight narrowing of Spa Road. Tree planting throughout area. Secondary road treatment at start of Woodlands Road, Bramerton Road and car park entrances. Potential for new street furniture. Where possible, paving improvements to include areas within private ownership that were excluded from previous improvements.	4,300
B	New paving and shared road surface at entrance to train station. Improvements to footpath linking to Spa Road	700
C	New car park	1,500
D	Paving improvements along Station Approach including potential pavement widening and tree planting. Roundabout reduced in size to create small green space on approach to station.	715
E	Paving improvements along Eldon Way and new parking spaces. With leisure uses consolidated in the main building to the west, vehicular access no longer needed into the buildings for loading and a wide paved area created between the building and car parking. This is seen as a 'child safety zone'.	2,790
F	New car park with high quality floor material. Existing car park to have matching treatment. Paving of connection between new shops and the high street to match existing paving in the central retail area.	3,700
G	This is currently private green space owned by the Church, and public access would need to be granted before opening up this area. If consent is granted by the Church, there is potential for new footpaths and small scale landscaping to develop a valuable area of public open space within the centre of Hockley.	1,000

Option 2 development site details

Detail on the areas of intervention is provided on these pages. Distinct areas have been identified which would be likely to come forward as development sites.The sites have been numbered and detail on each of these is set out in the table below.The site numbers are consistent across all three options, to allow a modular approach to be taken. Number 2 is therefore missing in this plan, as it is included in options 1, 2a and 3.

The table below provides an overview of proposed land uses within the option.

Total increase if whole of masterplan delivered
Land use	Gross external floor area (sqm)	Approx. units
Retail normal shops	505	2
Retail large shops	1,470	2
Flats	2,350	26
Houses	170	1
Offices (stand-alone)	3,610	190 people
Light industry/ attached offices	-8,400	6

Site	Existing use	Proposed use	Number of storeys	Existing areas			Proposed areas			Site Area (sqm)
				Land use	Approx. no. of units	Gross external floor area (sqm)	Land use	Approx. no. of units	Gross external floor area (sqm)
1	2 single storey retail units	2 retail units with flats above	3	Retail	2	275	Retail	2	360	700
							Flats	4	720
3a	2 / 3 storeys of light industry and offices	Office space (with some undercroft parking in a half basement), surface car parking and 2 larger format retail stores	3 for offices 1 for retail	Light industry / offices	6 (3 occupied by single operator)	8400	Retail (large format)	2	1,470	6,630
							Offices	190 people	3,610
							Office undercroft parking	33 spaces	775
							Surface car parking	66 spaces	1430
3b	Single storey retail and parking	Retail with flats above	2	Retail	3 - 4	385	Retail	4	735	2,040
							Flats	7	600
4	Library and health centre	Library, health centre and retail with flats above and private parking for flats	2 facing Southend Main Road, 3 to rear	Library	1	280	Library	1	370	1,350
							Health centre	1	300
				Health centre	1	245	Retail	2	115
							Flats	13	1030
5	Single storey retail	House	2	Retail	1	45	House	1	170	250
6	1 / 2 storeys of light industry and leisure	Consolidated leisure uses within existing refurbished buildings	1 / 2	Light industry / leisure	8 - 13	4,150 (building footprint)	Leisure	6 - 10	4,150 (building footprint)	6,970

Option 2a public realm investment detail

Site	Public realm description	Floor area (Red line area minus road area receiving no new treatment)
A	Extension of paving along Main Road and Southend Road from Spa Road roundabout. On street parking along Spa Road on paved surface and slight narrowing of Spa Road. Tree planting throughout area. Secondary road treatment at start of Woodlands Road, Bramerton Road and car park entrances. Potential for new street furniture. Where possible, paving improvements to include areas within private ownership that were excluded from previous improvements.	4,300
B	New paving and shared road surface at entrance to train station. Improvements to footpath linking to Spa Road	700
C	New car park	1,500
D	Paving improvements along Station Approach including potential pavement widening and tree planting. Roundabout reduced in size to create a small green space on the approach to the station.	715
E	Paving improvements along Eldon Way and new parking spaces. With leisure uses consolidated in the main building to the west, vehicular access no longer needed into the buildings for loading and a wide paved area created between the building and car parking. This is seen as a 'child safety zone'.	2,790
F	New car park with high quality floor material.	2,020
F1	Paving of connection between new shops and the high street to match existing paving in the central retail area. New public space fronting Spa Road with central soft landscaped area to act as the 'village green'	1,130
G	This is currently private green space owned by the Church, and public access would need to be granted before opening up this area. If consent is granted by the Church, there is potential for new footpaths and small scale landscaping to develop a valuable area of public open space within the centre of Hockley.	1,000

Option 2a development site details

The table below provides an overview of proposed land uses within the option.

Total increase if whole of masterplan delivered
Land use	Gross external floor area (sqm)	Approx units
Retail normal shops	585	0
Retail large shops	1,470	2
Flats	4,240	49
Houses	870	7
Offices (stand-alone)	3,610	190 people
Light industry/ attached offices	-8,400	6

Site	Existing use	Proposed use	Number of storeys	Existing areas			Proposed areas					Site Area (sqm)
				Land use	Approx. no. of units	Gross external floor area (sqm)	Land use		Approx. no. of units	Gross external floor area (sqm)
1	2 single storey retail units	2 retail units with flats above	3	Retail	2	275	Retail		2	360		700
							Flats		4	720
2	Single storey retail	Retail with flats above	2	Retail	4	390	Retail		5		470	750
							Flats		5		440
3a	2 / 3 storeys of light industry and offices	Office space (with some undercroft parking in a half basement), surface central retail area car parking and 2 larger format retail stores	3 for offices 1 for retail	Light industry / offices	6 (3 occupied by single operator)	8400	Retail (large format)		2		1,470	6,630
							Offices		190 people		3,610
							Office undercroft parking		33 spaces		775
							Surface car parking		66 spaces		1430
3b	Single storey retail and parking	Retail with flats above	2	Retail	3 - 4	385	Retail		4		735	2,040
							Flats		7		600
3c	Retail units with flats above and postal sorting office	Retail with flats above and houses	3	Retail	8	1250		Retail	5		1250	4,340
				Flats	7	600		Flats	25		2050
				Sorting office	1	450		Houses	6		700
4	Library and health centre	Library, health centre and retail with flats above and private parking for flats	2 facing Southend Main Road, 3 to rear	Library	1	280		Library	1		370	1,350
								Health centre	1		300
				Health centre	1	245		Retail	2		115
								Flats	13		1030
5	Single storey retail	House	2	Retail	1	45		House	1		170	250
6	1 / 2 storeys of light industry and leisure	Consolidated leisure uses within existing refurbished buildings	1 / 2	Light industry / leisure	8 - 13	4,150 (building footprint)		Leisure	6 - 10		4,150 (building footprint)	6,970

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