DEVELOPERS Simons could pull out of Dorchester’s controversial Charles Street scheme, the Echo has learned.

Councillors have been told that the scheme “may not be financially viable”.

The bombshell came as members of West Dorset District Council’s efficiency scrutiny committee held a meeting to discuss the proposed purchase of the Dorchester Community Church, which would enable the site to be developed.

WDDC strategic director Stephen Hill said the authority was considering the purchase in the context of two scenarios, the first with the existing scheme proposed by Simons still going ahead and the second considering what would happen if it did not come to fruition.

He said the council was taking the approach following a report by English Heritage, which stated the current archaeological investigations proposed with the second phase of the Charles Street scheme were not sufficient and asked for more thorough work to be done.

Mr Hill said this would have “significant financial implications for any development of the site”.

He added: “The scheme, as planned by Simons, may not be financially viable, but we are waiting for Simons to confirm their thoughts.”

Mr Hill added that Simons was also yet to secure the access rights to the Hardye Arcade and Tudor Arcade, which would also be required for development to proceed, and its planning application was yet to be approved.

He said that the council had considered the benefits of securing the community church, which will relocate to the new Damers School site at Poundbury, both for the currently proposed scheme and for what it would mean for any future development of the site, should Simons not proceed.

A report put before the committee said the church had a market value of £350, but because the site had special significance to the council, its value to the authority was actually £700,000.

The council had already allocated up to £2 million to fund preparation works for the Charles Street site, including the purchase of the church.

One of the options was to purchase the site for £700,000 and provide £205,000 in financial assistance to the church for its relocation. Another option included purchasing the church for £700,000 and securing a contribution of £205,000 from the Duchy of Cornwall towards the provision of the community facilities.

The committee was told the council could opt not to purchase the church, but, it would have financial implications on the proposed development and Dorchester as a whole.

Members unanimously agreed to recommend purchasing the community church, but decided to keep all options open for the executive committee, which will make the final decision.

Simons said it was unable to comment at this time due to the commercially sensitive nature of the project.

 

THE current scheme being proposed by Simons includes retail units including a new Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, apartments, public toilets and 470 underground parking spaces.

This is phase 2 of the redevelopment of the Charles Street car park.

The first phase of the development completed in 2013 included the construction of new district council offices and a county council library and learning centre.

Simons has been working closely with West Dorset District Council on the development which represents approximately £60 million of private investment into Dorchester and will create around 600 new jobs (not including council jobs).

Simons hosted a public consultation on the the second phase of the scheme scheme in July 2014. More than 100 people came to the exhibition in the first hour of the doors opening to see the plans.

It is expected that phase 2 would be completed during spring 2018.

 

DORCHESTER Town Crier and town councillor Alistair Chisholm has described the news that Simons may be forced to pull out of the Charles Street scheme as 'extraordinary'.

He said the archaeological significance of the area should have come as no surprise to the developers and should have been something they had taken into account when first considering their plans for the site.

Cllr Chisholm said: "You have a site in the middle of a Roman town, you are clearly going to have to build that into your thinking.

"When we are told the current scheme may not be going ahead because of the the archaeology I find that extraordinary.

"It's as though it has been put there some time in the last 30 years as an awkward impediment but it has been there for some time.

"It's really sad."

Cllr Chisholm said that rather than look at it as a negative, whoever develops the sight could look at the archaeological works as an opportunity and open them up for people to come and see as an attraction.

He also said, while he understood the council did need to buy the church, it could have been done a long time ago for a lot less money and should have been sorted before any scheme was brought forward for the site.