The Grand still to be grand

March 21, 2017 by Rob Kahl @ Scott & Stapleton

The Grand still to be grand

It looks like the plans for The Grand seem to be inching forward, but to say that it has been a slow process is the understatement of the century. We were all hopeful that the latest plans were going to be submitted at the beginning of the year, but these were sadly delayed yet again.

It is easy for all to blame and accuse the owner of Leigh’s most iconic building Mick Norcross of being greedy, but I think everyone is missing the point greatly and putting that good old two and two together and coming up with five!

We all love The Grand and most of us of a certain age have very fond memories of boozy nights standing outside in the summer sun to watching ‘gigs’ as our feet fought against the stickiness of the 50 year old carpet, but to retain a building of this size and character needs someone with extremely deep pockets. This is only the beginning though. The property deserves a plan going forward, it will need constant maintenance and upkeep to keep it looking spick and span, otherwise we will be in this situation in another 10 or 15 years.

Mick Norcross has thought of all of this and has already spent a considerable amount of time and money on viability studies and planning reports to best find the solution. The vision he has for the building looks truly magnificent, bringing The Grand back to its former glory and making it once again the focal point of our town. The commercial premises on the ground floor and basement look set to include a fine dining restaurant, with large south facing terrace, separate brasserie, private dining room and kitchen. The basement will play host to a private members’ bar and large spa. 

There is definitely a large market for these types of businesses with other similar restaurants such as Bourgee in Southend and the recently opened Baboush in Westcliff constantly fully booked. Both are great restaurants but neither of them has the location in the heart of Leigh or is in an impressive building such as The Grand. There isn’t a top quality health spa locally either, so I am sure this will prove very popular with the local Leigh ladies (sorry a little stereotypical I know) and even some of the men!

These businesses will not only breathe new life into the building, but also make that end of the Broadway buzzing with a hive of activity. It is however the residential units that will ensure the longevity of the building and secure the future for hopefully another 100 years at least.

Mick Norcross is due to submit plans for 19 apartments, including a new penthouse on top. These properties will be completely separate from the commercial units with a different entrance, secure parking and a lift. They will obviously be very high quality, luxury units and will quickly become a landmark development in the town, which I suspect will prove extremely popular with potential purchasers. These new residents will be responsible for an annual service charge and maintenance and will obviously have a vested interest in ensuring the building stays in pristine condition.

As you can probably tell I am on board with these plans. I think they look fantastic and I am genuinely excited about the prospect of seeing this building come back to life. It seems like the vast majority of Leigh residents see this as a very positive thing and, again, are looking forward to work getting underway. Even Leigh Town Council is recommending approval for the new plans and seem to be fully on board with Mr Norcross.

The only obstacle at the moment seems to be Southend Town Council. They recommended that plans were pulled earlier in the year and have instructed their own viability study. The stumbling block seems to be in their insistence for social housing within the residential units. The inclusion of these units and taking out normal residential units will have a detrimental effect on the overall pricing for the development and in my opinion will make it untenable.

If you have read any of my other blogs you will know that I am very pro social housing. In my opinion there isn’t nearly enough of this type of property in the borough and developers should be encouraged to include these types of properties wherever possible. My emphasis on this development really is on ‘wherever possible’ as in this instance, I can’t see how it is.

With a development of just 19 apartments the numbers get very tight. Knowing the local property market like I do and the extensive research I have done, it is quite clear that Mr Norcross is not aiming to make millions and millions of pounds out of this development. He has already invested heavily and with the build and refurbishment likely to run to at least £10,000,000 we should be encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in our town rather than putting obstacles in their way.

Plans are now due to be submitted in May or June so hopefully they can reach a speedy resolution and be approved quickly. We could hopefully see works start late summer this year and maybe we could be sipping prosecco on the terrace in summer 2018?

This article is by Rob at Scott & Stapleton.
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