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Residents of Epping Forest District Council have until Friday 13th November to have their say on Qualis Commercial’s exciting plans for its five sites in Epping Town Centre.  

Great news! The first visuals for Qualis Commercial’s exciting plans for Epping Town Centre have been revealed ahead of the second public consultation starting next week.

· First round consultation feeds into evolving plans

· Sports Hall and squash courts added to Leisure Centre proposals

· Car parking prioritised

· Qualis seeks further views on proposed amendments

Qualis Commercial has listened to your views and made changes to the initial plans. They are now seeking further feedback on these revised proposals for the five sites in Epping Town Centre.

Five days of (Covid-safe) virtual online events will start on Monday 2nd November following extensive engagement already carried out, which has touched all age groups and demographics across all wards.

From the qualitative data [1] accumulated during the first round of public consultation, two key themes that came through strongly were car parking and leisure facilities. The revised proposals now show an enhanced leisure centre with gym, swimming pool, sports hall and two squash courts on the Bakers Lane site with the Cottis Lane site providing multi-level car parking, including electric car charging points and other uses such as retail, offices, cinema and community space to complement the established High Street.

Phasing of the developments would ensure the new Epping Leisure Centre opened before the old sports centre closed.

Other proposals include over 250 much needed new quality homes built around green spaces on the St John’s Road site, the Conder Building and car park at the Civic Offices, and old sports centre site in Hemnall Street.

There would be a mixture of houses and apartments offering a range of private for sale homes, high quality rented homes and affordable housing in line with Epping Forest District Council’s affordability criteria.

Sustainability is a key part of the proposals which promote active transport options, with public realm interconnecting green spaces and the creation of a network of healthy streets that prioritises people, cleans the air and encourages active lifestyles.

In these uncertain times, Qualis Commercial is working to deliver a community focused development which is shaped by local people to benefit Epping and the district as a whole.

Qualis Commercial, the Epping Forest District Council-owned company, is excited to announce the dates commencing 2nd November for the second public consultation to present its revised plans for the five sites in Epping Town Centre.

Five days of (Covid-safe) virtual online events will start an invitation to comment on the revised proposals. Commencing Monday 2nd November, morning, afternoon, evening and weekend sessions will present the amended proposals. Recordings will be made for residents who can’t log on live and hard copies of the presentation will be available at key locations within the town centre. Feedback channels for residents to comment will remain open until Friday 13th November.

The sites:

First Consultation Reviewed

The initial consultation has been extensive, touching all age groups and demographics across all wards. Fantastic engagement has been received so far with over 10,500 visitors to the consultation website, 500+ visitors to the six-day public exhibition, and a targeted social media campaign reaching an audience of over 79,000. Qualis would like to thank everyone who took the time to be involved.

The new plans have been developed taking into consideration the public feedback that has been received.

In these uncertain times, Qualis Commercial is working to deliver a community focused development which is shaped by local people to benefit Epping and the district as a whole. Unlike other developers who will keep any profits made, all profits made will be reinvested back into both Qualis and EFDC with returns to the council supporting front line services and keeping council tax low.

Council Leader urges people to engage

Councillor Chris Whitbread, Leader of Epping Forest District Council said: “We are living in a rapidly changing world. Like all our residents, I will want to look very carefully at the latest proposals. Public wellbeing depends heavily on a strong economy. I want to know that in a post-Covid environment, the revised proposals do everything possible to support Epping High Street. Key developments such as the Leisure Centre and multi-level parking must draw customers into the town to the benefit of all businesses, in turn providing jobs and services for people living in new and affordable as well as existing homes.”

“I expect to see the changes in the latest proposals show Qualis has already listened to local people in the first consultation. It’s really important that we all take this next opportunity as a community to review the changes and make sure we have the project the people of Epping want. Now is our chance – get involved.”

Second Consultation starts 2 November

Further site investigation works will be taking place on Qualis Commercial’s five sites in Epping town centre over the next four weeks.

The work will take place on weekdays only and include some drilling into the ground to create boreholes in order to carry out further surveys and investigations on the soil and ground conditions. This will have a temporary impact for one to two hours on a few car parking spaces as the works are carried out across all sites.

Dates for work to be carried out:

· Hemnall Street Sports Centre – 26th and 27th October and 2nd and 3rd November (no weekend working)

· St Johns Site– 26th to 6th November (no weekend working)

· Bakers Lane Car Park – 28th to 4th November and 10th and 11th November (no weekend working)

· Cottis Lane Car Park – 5th to 10th November and 12th and 13th November (no weekend working)

· Civic Offices – 5th to 16th November (no weekend working)

Over 500 visitors took the time to attend Qualis Commercial’s six day public exhibition last week to give their views, concerns and support on the draft proposals for their five sites in Epping Town Centre identified in the emerging Local Plan for redevelopment.

The exhibition was held in Epping’s St John’s Church, which provided a wonderful community facility for people to come and discuss the plans and leave valuable feedback.

Rev. Lee Batson, Team Rector at St John’s Epping commented, “We are delighted and privileged to have been able to host this important public exhibition and provide the opportunity for the whole community to take part.

“The church belongs to the whole of Epping and we want to make our great space available to any community group who are looking for a space to use now or in the future. If anyone is interested I would be happy to talk further.”

Qualis Commercial is running online consultation presentations for local businesses and community groups on the development of the five sites in Epping that have been identified for redevelopment in the emerging Local Plan. 

WORKSHOPS : 

Community Groups – Tuesday 22nd September 6-7pm

Business – Wednesday 23rd September 6-7pm

Qualis Commercial will be carrying out some initial clearing work and site management work on the south west boundary of its St John’s Road site from Wednesday 16th September that will take approximately two weeks.

The purpose of the work is to create a safe and clear area to enable further site surveys and investigations to be undertaken which will form part of the planning application.

Brambles, soft vegetation and debris undergrowth with no ecological value will be cleared along with any rubbish on site. Smaller hedges and trees that overhang the boundary line will also be cut back.

With the bird nesting season finishing at the end of August, identified trees that have been approved by the Arboriculture Consultant will also be removed, although a further inspection for any nests will be carried out by the contractor before any work commences. Please note that the new landscape will include further trees as the site is progressed.

Qualis Commercial is currently in public consultation on suggested proposals for its five sites identified in the emerging Local Plan for redevelopment. An initial public exhibition has been held, and the information received from that, along with feedback on the online consultation platform, will now be fed into the designs as they are developed. There will be another opportunity in the Autumn for the public to comment on the updated proposals at a further public exhibition* before planning is submitted.

These initial works will ensure that the sites are ready for development once proposals have been developed and approved.

Over 200 people have already attended the first few days of Qualis Commercial’s six day public exhibition to provide feedback and comments on suggested proposals for its five sites in Epping Town Centre identified in the emerging Local Plan for redevelopment.

As part of its initial stage of engagement with the local community, Qualis Commercial is encouraging residents and those who work in Epping to view and provide feedback on the suggested proposals for its five sites in Epping at a public exhibition.

The exhibition** will be held for six days, from Monday 7th September to Friday 11th September from 10am to 4pm and Saturday 12th September from 10am to 1pm at St John’s Church, St John’s Road, Epping and will give visitors the chance to meet the team and share views and opinions.

Since Qualis Commercial uploaded drawings and information about initial proposals for the five sites in Epping to its Commonplace platform last Friday, there has been a great response on the consultation platform.

To date 68%* of the responses received show a positive or neutral sentiment to the information, confirming that many residents are keen to be involved and ensure that their feedback helps develop the sites to benefit the whole community. The data also shows that there is a good engagement from both men and women and that all age brackets are being involved.

Qualis Commercial has launched its public consultation platform to engage with local residents, businesses and stakeholders to gather views and aspirations about what they feel is needed in Epping.

Through the community consultation platform, Commonplace, people will be able to leave their opinions on five sites in Epping which will be regenerated by Qualis Group, the development company for Epping Forest District Council, and identified in the emerging Local Plan for redevelopment. This feedback will then be used to directly shape the development of the sites and influence the future Epping community.

Qualis Commercial is committed to bringing improved housing, economic growth and public amenities to the Epping Forest District and wants to work with the residents and businesses of Epping to deliver sites that will inject a new energy and cohesiveness within communities. The proposals will be designed to integrate with the existing town centre, embrace the history and culture and complement the independent and national businesses.

The consultation platform is an excellent tool as it enables everyone to have a say and the more people that get involved, the better the needs of the community as a whole will be reflected. There is also the option to register on the platform to be kept up to date with all the latest news and progress. Qualis Commercial will also ensure that residents and businesses are kept up to date through leaflet drops, press updates and online meetings.

From this extensive consultation process, Qualis Commercial will then be in a position to evolve its planning proposals for the five identified sites, which will then be further consulted on later in the year.

Qualis Commercial is the development arm of Qualis Group, with the common purpose to enhance the District through regeneration, investment and asset management to support community needs.