Mayflower Plaza, Southampton
Client:Terrace Hill
Planning permission was sought for 115,000 sq ft of Grade A office space over 8 floors, 180 residential units over 14 floors including a 150-bed hoteland a 176-cover restaurant located around a central public plaza. Improvements will be made to public realm and additional public areas to complement the workings of the existing buildings.
The design of the public realm will ensure that people regardless of disability, age or gender can use the Plaza.
Background
The two-acre site was identified as one of the key sites in the Southampton City Council (SCC) Local Plan Review (Site MSA 10) for a mixed-use development. Previously a 200 space outdoor car park operated by NCP, the site has stood vacant for a number of years.
Content
The project comprises three towers around a central plaza, with a basement car park incorporated and supported by the natural topography of the site.
Challenges and Innovation
Upton McGougan's Traffic and Transport Division provided expert traffic and transport advice, assessing the capacity of the Southampton Inner Ring Road, taking into consideration the impact of some fairly substantial committed developments in the locale.
Modelling software (TRANSIT) was used in order to assess the capacity of the local road network, and assist in reducing any potential negative impact caused as a direct result of the development during the busier peak hour periods.
The Transport Assessment (TA) focused particular attention on the increase in pedestrian traffic, facilitating increased site permeability and accessibility through scheme design, crossing and footway improvements and axial mapping. A range of preliminary off-site schemes were developed and presented to Southampton City Council (SCC) in an attempt to prepare the optimal pedestrian improvement scheme.
Surrounded on three sides by carriageway experiencing high daily vehicular flows, servicing of the site required careful consideration, with the adjacent Mayflower Theatre also requiring drop-off/pick-up facilities for the regular coaches delivering patrons to the site. A servicing strategy involving lay-bys and waiting restrictions was then devised to overcome this issue and ensure that the free flow of traffic on the local road network was not only retained, but also improved.
An umbrella Travel Plan (TP) was also developed to promote sustainable travel to and from the site, improving the BREEAM classification for the development and further reducing any potentially negative impact of the development on the network.
Working closely with SCC has led to the development of strategic approaches to sustainable travel promotion, utilising both incentives and restrictions to generate an attractive landscape for sustainable travel use.
Other services provided included the preparation of a Highways Pre-Construction survey, identifying culpability for any damages to the highway as a result of the construction works, and assistance in the negotiation of S106 planning conditions and highways contributions associated with the redevelopment of the site.