Cluttons - General Other - Kent Conference

Date: 23 Jan 2002

Property consultant Cluttons believes that increased interaction between the public and private sector in Kent will enable new property development within the county.

A key speaker at the Urban and Regional Development in Kent Conference [18/01/02], organised by BURA (British Urban Regeneration Association), Bob Clarke, senior investment partner at Cluttons, said he was encouraged by the role taken by councils in Thanet and Dover.

"They absorbed some of the risk and provided the mechanism that enabled developers to build speculatively, with good results. There must be scope for increased involvement of this type elsewhere in the county," he said.

Clarke pointed to SEEDA's (South East England Development Agency) success in delivering public sector-owned sites such as Tilmanstone and Betteshanger collieries, Shearway Business Park and Buckland Mill.

He ventured that greater public sector involvement was vital for the county, as "many parts of Kent are institutionally not fundable, despite rapid letting at good rents where new development occurs".

Clarke stressed that recent surveys indicated a substantial amount of latent demand for property in all commercial sectors. "Encouragingly, there are signs that private sector confidence is returning to the more outlying parts of the county, buoyed by the success of Kent's existing business parks and by a sustained period of economic growth."

He pointed to schemes such as County Gate, the first speculative office development in Maidstone, and other new office projects such as Turkey Mill and Cuckfield Group's redevelopment at Springfield.

Clarke also emphasised the strength of the residential market in Kent. "Residential developers are paying much more attention to urban development sites and a number of developers are seeking short-term investments that offer medium term residential development opportunities, or have potential for residential allocation in local plans."

Cluttons recently assisted two local authorities - Thanet and Canterbury - with urban capacity studies for inclusion in their local plans. It was clear from these studies, said Clarke, that residential use should be embraced:

"As one of the highest value-generating uses, it alone in many parts of Kent can generate values sufficient to overcome the abnormal costs often associated with brownfield sites and bring them forward."

"We would suggest that a more creative approach is generally required, and this has been reflected in a number of local plan reviews we have seen. Creating fashionable areas and vibrancy through mixed-use development is key to the regeneration process and in North Kent redevelopment along the Thames/Medway riverside, such as Chatham Maritime, is clearly a significant factor."

Clarke addressed over 100 delegates from both public and private sector bodies who attended the conference in Folkestone. Other speakers included representatives from Locate in Kent, Kent County Council, Eurotunnel Developments, Land Securities and Ernst & Young LLP.

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