St. Osyth Road, Clacton, Essex
We were asked by Lidl to locate a suitable site for a new food store
with a main road position,close to exiting shops, in Clacton Essex.
We canvassed all owners of prominent sites without success so we decided to look at the possibility of assembling a site that was in multiple ownerships. We highlighted a possible location on the junction of three main roads with bus stops and existing shops close by. We spoke to Tendering District Council who said they would like to see the area we had selected redeveloped.
We knew Save Petroleum PLC owned a site of approx 0.3 acre on St Osyth Road and were starting to dispose of some of their petrol stations.
We approached them to see if they would sell with success. Behind the Petrol Station was a mixture of old industrial units, a disused social club and a residential property. The other side of the site was fronted on Old Road with a furniture shop and a DIY store. After six months of negotiations the owners of all the properties we required had agreed to sell on a Subject to Planning basis.
The legal agreements were completed and a detailed planning application was prepared. Due to the different uses involved we had to commission a full environmental investigation, an Acoustic Report and an Ecological Report as there was a residential property within the site which had a small back garden that could have contained wildlife. In addition to these we had to commission a Retail Impact Assessment and a Highways Report.
The detailed planning application was submitted with all the required supporting documentation and planning was granted within the normal statutory period. Eastern Square then went unconditional on the legal agreements and completed the purchase of all the properties, which required vacant possession and then we sold the site to Lidl.