Cranbrook town centre crawls closer

Estate agents appointed to buy land

A vital next step on the road to Cranbrook getting a long-awaited town centre has been agreed.

Councillors have agreed to appoint commercial property agents Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) to undertake negotiations over parcels of land in the town owned by the consortium but to be purchased by East Devon District Council.

It follows the agreement of the council in January to accept an updated offer from the East Devon New Community Partners (EDNCP) that could lead to come facilities opening by the end of 2022.

The "hard-fought deal" with developers will bring forward multi-million pound plans which include land to provide a range of community, leisure and business spaces and could include a leisure centre.

A Morrison’s supermarket, a range of shops, a youth centre, library and town council offices are also set to be in place by the end of next year, and the cabinet decision means that the council will be investing millions of pounds in Cranbrook’s future as it can buy land to build areas of the town centre itself.

Lambert Smith Hampton will value parcels of land in Cranbrook and then negotiate on East Devon’s behalf with the land owners to buy one or more of them.

A council cabinet meeting heard that this work is urgently required so a memorandum of understanding (MOU) can be signed, and that it was more cost-effective to appoint LSH than to go through a tendering exercise.

Cllr Dan Ledger, portfolio holder for strategic planning, said: “This is next step to deliver the town centre and work with the consortium to deliver it, and as soon as we have the land values, we can sign the MOU and then start to see planning applications come forward. This is a really exciting time."

Cllr Paul Hayward, deputy leader, added: “We are moving ahead with the town centre, and once we have agreed on the price, we can start investing in Cranbrook.”

Cabinet member also agreed to a request from Cranbrook Town Council to be paid £600,00 in lieu of them delivering changing rooms by the new community partners as part of the Cranbrook Sports Pavilion project. 

Cllr Ledger added: “This is win for localism and I look forward to them delivering the new facilities for the town,” while Cllr Hayward added: “I am delighted they can crack on and delivery the facilities as the resident are crying out for them.”