Arla Foods and Citygrove have unveiled an exciting £100 million development scheme for the former Express Dairy site on Victoria Road in South Ruislip.
The dairy has been derelict since it closed in 2006 and this scheme aims to bring a mix of cinema, restaurants and a supermarket, creating approximately 600 new jobs and a new heart to South Ruislip town centre.
We are keen to involve the local community in helping to shape the proposals.
We hope to obtain your views on the masterplan before a planning application is prepared and submitted to Hillingdon Council for consideration.
Existing Site
Existing Site
Existing Site
Aims and objectives
The development team aims to:
- Deliver a new heart for South Ruislip town centre by creating a strong character, a lively destination, vibrant new leisure facilities and high quality public realm
- Create a sustainable development which encourages the use of public transport, particularly with the proximity of South Ruislip Tube Station
- Provide new green spaces, trees and areas which can support wildlife within the urban environment
- Support and enhance the retail offer within South Ruislip town centre by providing more choice, convenience and competitive pricing to ensure that the local shopping area remains strong and viable
The Proposal
The proposal seeks to deliver a vibrant leisure scheme for south ruislip incorporating:
- A 10-screen cinema
- Four restaurants
- A foodstore
- Residential properties with a focus on family houses
- A hotel and public house
- A central public piazza with seating
- New off-road walking and cycling routes to provide ease of access for existing as well as future residents
The
Team
Arla Foods
Arla Foods UK plc was created by the merger of Express Dairies and Arla Foods in 2003 and has owned the South Ruislip dairy since that time. Arla Foods is one of the UK's leading dairy companies, supplying a third of the nation's milk. Arla works closely with all the major retailers and has a portfolio of leading dairy brands including Lurpak, Anchor, Cravendale and Lactofree.
Arla Foods has invested in new dairies across the UK and has a strong commitment to ensuring that its redundant sites are brought forward for high quality redevelopment.
CityGrove
Citygrove is a leading development and investment company specialising in commercial development throughout the UK and Europe. The company is based in London and concentrates on retail, leisure and mixed use schemes. It has successfully completed more than two million sq ft of commercial accommodation.
Citygrove is an established market leader in cinema led developments and has developed eleven cinema schemes, seven of which have been anchored by Cineworld.
The company is committed to developing sustainable and mixed use schemes and providing much needed investment and regeneration.
Citygrove has
created a
reputation
for building high
quality, innovative
and successful
schemes
Current citygrove
schemes include:
Westgate, Aldershot – A £55 million development in a joint venture with Rushmoor Borough Council. The 196,000 sq ft scheme comprises a seven-screen Cineworld cinema, Morrisons foodstore, 91-bed Travelodge hotel and eight restaurants.
Southwater Square, Telford – £25 million town centre leisure scheme comprising an eleven-screen Cineworld cinema, 85-bed Premier Inn hotel and seven restaurants.
Creating A Heart
To South Ruislip
Arla and Citygrove aim to consult with the local community to ensure that residents can play a pivotal role in helping to create a development which is appealing, vibrant and provides new facilities for local people.
In November 2010, a two-day consultation event showed a number of options for the development of the site on exhibition panels.
The key findings from this consultation:
- South Ruislip does not have all of the services needed for the local community
- There needs to be more shopping choice
- South Ruislip needs investment and improvement
- The area needs more leisure facilities and things to do in the evening
- There is no cinema or bowling alley
- Developing the site would improve community safety
- The site is currently dilapidated and needs investment
- The redevelopment should seek to minimise the impact on adjacent residential properties, as well as ensuring no negative noise implication
- Transport improvements are required
- Respondents would prefer fewer houses
Previous Consultations
The development team has also liaised with:
High Speed 2
The proposed HS2 route will run alongside the Chiltern line past the dairy site. It will have a minimal effect on the site as much of the land it proposes to use is already within Network Rail's ownership. In our layout we will make provision for construction and maintenance purposes should this be required.
Defence Estates
The site sits on the flight path to RAF Northolt.
Defence Estates has confirmed that it has no objection in principle to the development, provided a height limit of 13 metres on all buildings under the flightpath is imposed.
Transport For London
The development team has also liaised regularly with Transport for London and Hillingdon Council Highways on the detailed Transport Assessment requirements. Once completed, this will include details about the modelling work undertaken, the effect on key junctions, the mitigation measures and the Green Travel Planning initiatives.
South Ruislip resident's Association
We have liaised closely with the Resident's Association to take on board feedback as we have developed the proposals. Further comments are welcomed today.
Arla Foods and its project team have been working hard to take on board findings from the exhibitions, as well as undertaking studies and surveys to understand what is viable and attractive for the site. The feedback from residents, groups and these surveys have informed the masterplan.
The
Site
The site has been derelict since its closure in 2006. It sits to the north-west of the junction of Victoria Road and Long Drive in South Ruislip, behind the parade of shops, the pub and the Days Inn. It has very little road frontage and is boarded by the Cash and Carry and the Convention Centre.
To the north, the former Focus DIY shop is now owned by AVIVAPensions and Investments. Work has been undertaken to assess the opportunities and effects of developing the site and a number of studies have been completed.
Details are provided below:
Environmental
Work has been undertaken to determine the significance of any effect of the proposed development and the site was not deemed to have significant ecological value. However, we are incorporating new planting within the proposals which can support wildlife within the urban environment.
Ground Conditions
This is a brownfield site which was previously used as a fresh milk dairy. The site has been surveyed and there are no significant issues. A remediation strategy has therefore been created which will ensure the site will be suitable for residential development.
Noise
Appropriate landscaping and bunding would be delivered to ensure that the site is screened and does not have an adverse effect on local residents.
Landscaping
The site can deliver good quality public realm including a piazza with seating, open space and planting, as well as improved pedestrian linkages and safe crossing points, delivering a heart to the South Ruislip community.
In addition, we intend to include a landscaped corridor between the new development and the existing residential areas to the north of the site.
Leisure Facilities
The site has the ability to deliver new facilities for residents in South Ruislip including a ten-screen cinema, four restaurants and outdoor piazza which complement rather than compete with existing facilities.
Employment Opportunities
Despite marketing the former Express dairy site for the last five years it has not been possible to attract a new industrial user to the site. However, by delivering a new mixed usesite incorporating a cinema, restaurants, and a supermarket, the site can deliver 600 new jobs to the area.
Transport and Access
The primary vehicular access for the site will be from Victoria Road. The dairy itself generated a high number of larger vehicle movements, whereas the new land use will focus on local trips by foot, linked to the existing amenities of the area, public transport and passenger vehicles. Servicing will be designed so as not to be intrusive.
The proposals for a mixed use scheme will help to spread journeys throughout the day and will also encourage linked trips, whereby visitors use a number of the facilities (including existing ones) at the same time, rather than creating new trips.
The site is adjacent to South Ruislip Tube Station and Chiltern Line Station which is currently an underused amenity. Perhaps more importantly it is within walking distance of a large residential population that currently have to travel further afield for such amenities.
The permeability of the site will be improved to create new pedestrian routes which allow for greater access from the north and east to the facilities.
Retail Assessment
A number of supermarket operators have shown interest in the site, as a result a comprehensive study has been undertaken to assess retail need in the area. The study has concluded the following:
- Sainsbury's is overtrading by approximately £20 million for a store of its size
- 75% of Sainsbury's shoppers choose the store because it is the closest to their home
- The majority of respondents believe Sainsbury's is too busy
The site therefore has potential to either relocate Sainsbury's to a larger store on the dairy site or provide another supermarket in order to deliver more competitive pricing, less queuing and more shopper choice.
Transport studies on other retail sites have shown that as little as 5% of vehicle trips to food retail developments could be new to the local area and, in some busy locations, this increase could be zero. The busiest times for food shopping are Friday evenings and Saturdays around midday and in this busy location, food shopping traffic is already travelling on the local roads to reach the nearby Sainsbury's or travelling to other sites further away.
Should Sainsbury's decide to move to the dairy site, we would expect existing customers to transfer across to the new and better facilities; resulting in little increase in new traffic during the peak hours. In addition, there is a large population within walking distance, the site is adjacent to the tube and we would expect many of the trips would be linked, whereby a customer uses a number of the new facilities during their visit.
For this development, we consider that during the peak hours there will be minimal new food shopping trips on the highway network and the development will essentially redistribute existing traffic flows. The addition of a cinema within the development will complement the retail element of the proposal as local people will generally be travelling to the site to watch movies at different times from customers shopping for food. This will maximise the use of the car parking space throughout the day and into the late evening creating a vibrant environment.
The
Masterplan
