King Edward VII
Community Consultation

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Q1- Is the water supply adequate?

Yes. An improved water system will be installed which has been designed to service the development and the proposals have been agreed by the relevant statutory bodies.

Q2- Have the Fire Brigade been consulted?

All the proposals have been submitted to WSCC for comment and as a result of the feedback from the Fire Service fire hydrants have been incorporated in the proposals.

Q3- Are other utilities, gas, electricity, drainage, adequate?

All services will be suitable for the development and there are no objections from any of the statutory bodies to our proposals.

Q4- Previous applications proposed and required alterations to the A286 junction. Are there any proposals to alter the junction and is any land necessary from adjoining landowners?

There are improvement works planned for the junction which all fall within highway land and therefore there is no other land required from adjoining owners. The proposals and improvements have the support of the Highways Authority.

Q5- Why can't the enabling development be carried out on another site somewhere else, as allowed for in English Heritage policy guidance?

It is possible to locate the enabling development elsewhere under the guidance however, three previous consents have been granted, within the lifetime of the current Local Plan for major enabling development to be carried out on the site, which clearly point to the acceptability of an on-site solution to the provision of enabling development.

Critically, the land value of the KEVII site is in the appraisal at nil value. Therefore it would be necessary to find a development site at nil value to replace it in order avoid increasing the Conservation Deficit still further and thus the number of new homes required to fund it.

There would also be further delay in finding, negotiating and gain planning consent on a new site that has not been identified for development, which would presumably have its own problems of location, sustainability and infrastructure provision. This delay would again increase the Conservation Deficit.

In addition, we believe that it is appropriate that the new homes required to fund the restoration of the historic asset should be located where the benefit of that restoration is realised. Otherwise the other community is being asked to bear impact of the new homes without any benefit. Although there is an overwhelming raison d’etre for the proposals at the King Edward VII site, the local community adjacent to this alternative theoretical site would no doubt be outraged that they had development foisted upon them without any of the justifications or the benefits of the development of the site, when the local community adjoining King Edward VII have known since Chichester Council granted permission to the 2003 proposal, that large scale development of the site was acceptable.

Q6- Will there be any financial contribution towards the resolution of the parking problem for commuters/users of Haslemere Station?

No. This is an existing problem, which is not a result of this development and no financial contribution to any additional parking was considered appropriate in relation to any of the previous applications. Again if a contribution was to be made this would only serve to increase the costs and therefore the Conservation Deficit still further leading to an increase in the number of new homes to be provided. There are however several mitigating factors which will reduce the impact:

The type of residential development proposed typically suits downsizers and retired people and the majority of units are designed with these purchasers in mind. Thus the number of potential commuters will be limited.
In addition over a third of the proposed units are assisted care properties, which by their very nature will not be occupied by commuters
Provision of a minibus service to Haslemere Station in the rush hours (as well as at other times and locations to serve the development’s residents)
Home-working facilities being provided in all of the larger properties

Q7- Has the bank/funders given any guarantees regarding the completion of the development/restoration, due to the lengthy construction period of the development?

The bank are very committed to delivering the successful realisation of these proposals. As part of the application the bank have proposed a legal agreement to be entered into with the South Downs National Park Authority and them that ensures that works of repair and restoration on a phased basis come before the relevant phase of the new development. In addition City & Country are committed to making this development a success as we have made promises on delivery and we take our commitment and reputation very seriously.

Q8- How much profit will you make?

In accordance with the English Heritage guidance a market profit for development of this nature has been agreed. This is 25% profit on development costs. If both applications were to be approved this would equate to approx £39 million.

Q9- What guarantees are there that you won't carry out the new build and not undertake any of the restoration/repair work?

The S106 agreement is a legally binding document between the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), the bank and City & Country that sets out the restoration comes before the new build in a phased manner. The agreement sets out exactly the restoration works required and what repair works needs to be done before the relevant new build units can be sold. Thus the SDNPA will have the power to be able to legally ensure that this very worst case scenario never occurs.

Q10- How many houses and apartments are proposed?

The historic buildings are converted into 30 private residential apartments, and 145 assisted care apartments (with 2 staff studios).

Significant areas of existing accommodation are proposed to be demolished due to its impact on the historic setting and replaced with 238 new build houses and apartments (including the 22 additional units in the second application). The new houses and apartments are in locations that do not detract from the historic setting giving a combined footprint of buildings and hard standing that is the same sq ft as currently exists on site. The saleable floor area is approximately the same as that approved in 2003, however the new scheme reduces the built footprint from that approved in 2003 by 150,700 sq ft.

Q11- What is the breakdown of units in sizes?

1 bedroom properties 21%

2 bedroom properties 56%

3 bedroom properties 11%

4 & 5 bedroom properties 12%

Q12- Particularly in view of Budgenor in Easebourne and the possibility of development on the Syngenta site in Fernhurst, will it be possible to market and sell 400+ dwellings on this site? Won't this cause viability problems?

This question has been considered by the DVS[1], the Council’s viability expert and addressed with the viability audit so as not to cause a viability problem. City & Country has carefully reviewed the range of product on offer to appeal to the widest possible audience while suiting the buildings, their setting and the environment. City & Country produce only high quality developments and quality will sell in even the most challenging of markets. We have evidence of this with the success of our sites at The Galleries, Brentwood, Old St Michaels in Braintree and Balls Park in Hertford all selling in the depths of recession. The works of repair are extensive and thus the development programme is expected to last 10 years. During this period City & Country and the bank are confident that they will be able to sell this attractive development into the market place regardless of the competition.

Q13- What is in it for the bank?

The bank made substantial loans to the previous developer and they currently are in a loss situation. If the development is successfully delivered they will be able to recoup their investment.

Q14- What will the range of prices be for the proposed dwellings?

They are estimated to range from approximately £160,000 to over £1 million.

Q15- What impact assessment has been carried out on the wider community/communities?

The Council requested that as part of the application that City & Country carry out and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), which complies with the current legislation. The EIA is available on the Council website and it considers and covers all the aspects of the development.

Q16- What is the Conservation Deficit if only the conversions were completed without any of the new build?

The Conservation Deficit for the scheme without the new build funding the restoration of the listed buildings, using the Council’s viability expert’s (DVS)[2] appraisals is £55,096,552 on the DVS’s lower range and £58,028,902 on the DVS’s Higher Range.

Q17- The figure that has been put forward as the Conservation Deficit has been wrongly calculated by City & Country Group and the DVS. It is the scheme deficit. What is the Conservation Deficit on the restoration of the buildings?

The figures have been reviewed by English Heritage’s (EH) expert on the calculation of enabling development and they have been correctly calculated in accordance with English Heritage’s guidance. The EH guidance defines conservation deficit as ‘The amount by which the cost of repair (and conversion to optimum beneficial use if appropriate) of a significant place exceeds its market value on completion of repair and conversion, allowing for all appropriate development costs, but assuming a nil or nominal land value’. There is no definition of ‘scheme deficit’ nor does this term appear anywhere within the guidance.

Once a beneficial use has been identified an appraisal can be carried out in accordance with the English Heritage guidance for that particular scheme and any deficit if it was deemed to be the optimum beneficial use would be properly described as a Conservation Deficit. To decide on what is the optimum beneficial use is an iterative process where a range of acceptable beneficial uses are appraised to see which scheme ideally reduces the deficit to zero. The method of calculation remains constant in all the appraisals. At King Edward VII a conversion of the buildings without any new build has been calculated by the DVS[3] to yield a deficit of between £55-58 million whereas the proposed applications would, if granted, reduce this deficit to approx £9 million.

Thus the Conservation Deficit of the restoration of the buildings would be £55-58 million and that of the two current applications, would be £9 million.

Q18- What is the cost of restoring the asset?

There are various scenarios that have been appraised as part of the Council’s and South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) assessment and these are all available on the Council’s website.

Q19- What is the value of the asset once restored?

Q20- Will there be any S106 financial contributions?

No. Again this would only serve to increase the costs and therefore the Conservation Deficit still further leading to an increase in the number of new homes to be provided. There are however many other public benefits that will be brought about by the restoration of the estate for example being:

Securing the future of a nationally important collection of heritage assets, which English Heritage recognise as having ‘a good claim to be seen as one of the pivotal sites of its time and place’ by repairing and restoring them and putting them back into beneficial use.
Preserving and enhancing a highly important piece of local social history for the benefit of current and future generations
The long term protection and enhancement of the natural habitats within the extensive site and the ecological benefits that will flow as a result
Open weekends for general public to view the restored gardens and the historic measured walks, which amount to 6 km of woodland and heathland walks through this historic estate within the South Downs National Park.
Immediate and on-going local employment – through construction activities for the next 10 years, and on-going landscape and building maintenance and the employees servicing assisted care facilities
Well over £120 million investment in the local area to undertake the restoration and development
Financial benefits to the local economy through increased business and customers
The Central Government’s New Homes Bonus is estimated at just under £5 million over the first 6 years of which £4 million to be spent by Chichester District Council on public services and the remainder by the County Council.

Q21- What is the impact of the new build on the landscape of the site and the area?

This is primarily a brownfield site. In their current condition and with their very insensitive later additions the buildings are at present a sad and deteriorating scar on the landscape. Also the surrounding landscape has been left untended for many years leading to a poor condition and ecological value.

Our proposals will restore the nationally important listed buildings to their former glory, restore the Gertrude Jekyll gardens and enhance the wider landscape breathing new life and bringing a new and beneficial use to this much loved estate. With no more traffic generated than when it was a hospital and all the other benefits listed above, we believe that our careful and balanced approach will result in substantial improvement to the landscape and biodiversity of the local area.

[1] DVS – DVS is the commercial arm of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), providing professional property advice right across the public sector. http://www.voa.gov.uk/dv_services/ The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an executive agency of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

[2] DVS – DVS is the commercial arm of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), providing professional property advice right across the public sector. http://www.voa.gov.uk/dv_services/ The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an executive agency of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

[3] DVS – DVS is the commercial arm of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), providing professional property advice right across the public sector. http://www.voa.gov.uk/dv_services/ The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an executive agency of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)