Recent work
"Placemaking can occur in rural, urban and peri-urban environments and is well documented in a legacy development context, where there is a focus on delivering sustainable, high quality, mixed-use developments which are community-led and where stewardship is the watchword in both construction and estate management to ensure the developments thrive in the long term."
Henry Stevens, Partner, Commercial Property
Whitgift Centre in Croydon
We are advising the Whitgift Foundation on the proposed redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre in Croydon.
The Foundation, which owns a large proportion of the Whitgift Centre, originally entered into a development agreement with Croydon Limited Partnership (a joint venture between Unibail-Rodamco Westfield and Hammerson) in 2011, but the development never got off the ground. In 2023 URW acquired Hammerson’s share of CLP and a significant revised development is now being proposed. This is a once in a generation project for the Foundation and also for Croydon city centre.
We have been advising the Foundation on the terms of the current development agreement and heads of terms for a new development agreement to allow the development to progress. We have also been advising the Foundation on asset management issues resulting from the delay in the development. This prime regeneration scheme is an excellent example of the market-leading and headline-grabbing work that the team undertakes.
Duchy of Cornwall
We have advised the Duchy of Cornwall for a number of years on their development schemes around the country including in Cornwall, Dorset, and Oxfordshire.
In particular, we have advised on the delivery of Poundbury, Dorset which is now in its final phase of development. Poundbury consists of over 2,700 homes and over 250 shops, cafes, offices, and factories as well as schools, GP surgeries, significant communal open space land and site-wide infrastructure.
We have been involved on this project since inception and put in place pioneering design-control mechanisms to protect the ethos of the original vision of Poundbury both during the development phase and also post-development. The Duchy have partnered with a select group of SMEs to deliver the scheme as well as entering into joint venture arrangements with both an SME house builder and an energy provider.
We are now currently advising the Duchy on their ongoing development project Nansledan in Newquay Cornwall. This high-profile project, being undertaken by a consortium of developers pursuant to an innovative partnership structure established by the Duchy, advised by Farrer & Co, will ultimately provide 4,000 homes (integrating private and affordable), with a new high street mixing retail, leisure, food and beverage with commercial development, community buildings, alongside strategic infrastructure, new primary school, greenspaces, sports facilities and a household waste recycling centre.
The Englefield Estate
We act for the Englefield Estate, a long-established family-owned business managing a 14,000-acre estate in West Berkshire and Hampshire, as well as property interests in London and Scotland.
We are currently advising the Estate in connection with the development of former agricultural land in Burghfield Common and Theale, with both sites benefitting from planning permission for the construction of approximately 100 residential properties.
The Englefield sites are just two examples of design-led schemes placing emphasis on long term management that our development team are frequently advising on, and for which the team is recognised as market leading.
Burghley Estate
We are advising the majority landowner on a significant urban extension in Lincolnshire that is anticipated to provide c.1,350 homes, including c.30% affordable housing, a new local centre, linear park, link road, sports facilities, and a new primary school.
We have assisted on all facets of the proposed development from its inception, but in particular we have worked closely with numerous stakeholders in establishing an LLP between three landowners, with options granted over the relevant development land.
We have also devised the tax structure for the LLP proposal and advised on implementation, including in relation to trading tax risks, complex SDLT and corporation tax structuring involving the project LLP, and on the use of options (and cross-options) across the site.
A key feature of our work has been advising the LLP on a multi-million financing from Homes England to support the delivery of key enabling infrastructure and S106 commitments to unlock the development. These arrangements have been made particularly complicated by the need to fund the construction of a link road, which straddles third party ownerships and different local authorities
Gascoyne Estate
We are acting on two major mixed-use legacy developments known as Creswick and Stanborough for Gascoyne Cecil Estates (GCE) located near the GCE’s base at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire.
The Stanborough project is a complicated development scheme, which includes a major minerals operator and phased development. This scheme remains in its infancy for now, but it will be very substantial and a long-term provider of housing to the area.
The Creswick project has now received planning permission for an urban extension of c.300 homes with new community open space facilities. We are advising on the planning agreements, including biodiversity net gains obligations and on a renegotiation of the development agreement with the chosen developer to provide for profit sharing.
Shinfield Studios
We are advising Shadowbox Studios on the development of nearly 1 million square feet of studio space at Shinfield Studios, near Reading, to include 18 purpose-built sound stages, together with offices, workshops and infrastructure.
This greenfield new build development, the UK flagship of the Shadowbox global platform, constitutes a major piece of international investment into the UK’s high-end TV and film industry and is expected to generate between £500-600m of inward investment annually and in the region of 3,000 new jobs.
The community benefits of this scheme, including major Biodiversity Net Gain contributions, improvements to local infrastructure and the creation of a new cinema facility, highlight the centrality of placemaking and sustainability to major commercial developments and the importance of the landowners, developers and planners working together to achieve outcomes that represent more than the sum of their parts.
This multi-faceted transaction, which included a long lease from and joint venture with the University of Reading, required significant participation from the firm’s corporate, banking, employment and tax teams, showcases the big-ticket development work the team does, as well as the importance of the breadth of the firm’s practice in providing a one-stop shop for clients investing in the UK.
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