Churchfields

Please click one of the links below to read the specific parts of the project

Current Activity
Background
Vision Objective
Proposals
Rationale

You can also click through to our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Current Activity

Face-to-face interviews took place with over 90 businesses on the Churchfields Estate during the summer and autumn of last year. This provided useful and important feedback which has helped inform our on-going work. We would like to say a very big thank you to all the businesses that met with us and/or participated in this process.

Any businesses who would still like to arrange to meet with us should contact our office on 01722 434689.

Last year the government provided funding to Wiltshire Council and Salisbury Vision for consultancy advice to assess the regeneration of Churchfields. This funding was for initial advice to understand at a high level, the current regeneration opportunities. It is referred to as the pre-masterplanning feasibility stage.

During the summer of 2010, Wiltshire Council and Salisbury Vision appointed consultants AECOM and DTZ to undertake this work, in partnership with the government’s housing and regeneration body the Homes and Communities Agency.

The work has been on-going since October last year and has included:

A preliminary site assessment (including analysis of site issues such as access, services and ground conditions as well as land and property issues).
Consideration of the feedback from the businesses consultation undertaken last year.
Strategic assessment of potential relocation sites.

This initial study is nearing completion and the consultants will be reporting their findings in the spring. These findings will include recommendations for taking the project forward which will be considered by the Salisbury Vision Board.

We expect to be in a position to provide more detail later in the spring, once the consultants’ findings are known. In the meantime we can confirm that Salisbury Vision remains committed to moving forward the regeneration of Churchfields recognising that this is a long-term project that remains in its early stages.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Scott Anderson by e-mail at scott.anderson@wiltshire.gov.uk or by telephone on 01722 434689.

Background

At 33 hectares, the Churchfields Industrial Estate is the largest employment site in south Wiltshire. An examination of the estate in 2010 estimated that it is home to approximately 190 companies employing around 4,500 people and together they have a combined annual turnover of £600 million. The estate, located within 1km of Salisbury city centre has developed over the past 30 years into the most important employment centre in the district.

The ad hoc development of the site, albeit within planning policy and guidelines, has led to a number of issues, which over recent years have increasingly been the cause of some concern to Salisbury District Council, the South Wiltshire Economic Partnership (SWEP) and to other representatives of business in south Wiltshire.

The types of business present on the estate is varied and their use often conflicting. The basic infrastructure of the estate is in a poor condition. Whilst there are large areas of buildings in good or average condition, there are several pockets of poor and dilapidated property which tend to have been built in or pre-1970s.

Access to the estate and to many of the individual businesses, is difficult - particularly for HGVs. The only HGV accessible route to the estate runs through part of the city centre. There are no public transport routes serving the estate; 73% of employees and visitors to the estate arrive by car and it is estimated that over 560 cars are parked on the estate roads every day.

The site is bounded by the River Nadder on three sides and the railway line on the fourth. Relocating the businesses that generate the HGV traffic to alternative locations near the city centre and redeveloping the estate for alternative use is a priority.

Vision Objective:

Relocate inappropriate businesses (primarily those generating HGV traffic movements) to alternative locations close to the city and redevelop the site as a residential mixed use scheme which includes offices and a hotel/conference centre

Proposals:

The original proposals for Churchfields within the Salisbury Vision included the following objectives

Relocate the businesses remaining on Churchfields to the westernmost third of the site
Redevelop the remaining two thirds of the site as a residential-led mixed use scheme which includes a hotel/conference centre
Include a major green public space and water area/s possibly with a kiosk/refreshment provision to serve local demand; this should be a point of architectural focus and increase vitality
Provide a viewing corridor to the Cathedral
Create pedestrian access to Harnham, to the Town Path and to the city centre
Include an eco-housing and/or an affordable housing development
Development should be divided into blocks that allow frequent visual, pedestrian and servicing connections particularly to Churchfields Road, the water meadows, Town Path and Harnham
Provide at least two green links from the east to the west sides of the River Nadder to contribute towards the environmental and ecological aspirations of the Vision
Locate key buildings around the public spaces or at the end of key vistas and include higher buildings close to the station creating the opportunity for higher densities around the public transport interchange
The use of grey water recycling, solar power generation, Combined Heat and Power units and other renewable energy sources across at least 60% of buildings within the site should be considered a priority
Areas of significant planting particularly to the south around the River Nadder should be retained

These objectives helped to inform the inclusion of the site within the South Wiltshire Core Strategy, and establish a policy context for the Vision’s goals for this site.

Rationale:

To relocate inappropriately sited business and remove associated HGV traffic from the city centre
To develop a new area that meets housing demand and provides the opportunity to meet the requirements of office employers and other growing economic sectors
To make better use of the site by providing new living, working and leisure opportunities which capitalise on its outlook and views to the Cathedral, and its proximity to the railway station
To provide much needed additional hotel and conference facilities
To deliver more affordable housing close to the city centre
To contribute to other Vision projects by providing finance through capital receipt and planning gain