DEVELOPERS Crest Nicholson Sainsbury's (CNS) are hoping to persuade Waverley Council to let Phase I of the East Street development get off the ground before they have completed purchase of the entire site. The developers have also requested extensions to certain time limits within the conditional contract for the much-delayed scheme. The requests, which have set alarm bells ringing in some quarters, have been under consideration since they were reported in private session to the council's executive four months ago. The developers hope to include lucrative parts of the scheme such as the eight-screen cinema and a large store for an as-yet- unnamed national retailer in the first of the three phases. A detailed planning application for that part of the site had been anticipated early next year, along with outline plans for the rest of the site. But agreement over purchasing the land on which the existing Sainsbury's store stands - land intended to be redeveloped in Phase 3 - has still not been reached and Waverley officers were instructed in July to look into the possibility of compulsory purchase. At a meeting of Waverley's executive on Tuesday, a statement was unexpectedly read out in public on the issue. Councillors had apparently expressed concern in July at the lack of progress by CNS on its land assembly obligations. CNS was asked to give a detailed explanation of events that have led to "a seeming impasse" with St Martin's Property Corporation, owners of the existing Sainsbury's site. The information sought by the council had produced "in increments", but a breakdown of building costs is still awaited, leaving officers unable to make a recommendation on the developer's requests until a revised financial appraisal has been assessed. The imminent submission of a detailed planning application now seems unlikely, with Waverley insisting to The Herald that no agreement had been reached over the content of Phase I. In a statement, the council said: "While the timing has slipped, we have been going through a development control consultancy forum in advance of a usual planning process; this has inevitably taken some considerable time. "It is also inevitable in schemes of this size and nature that matters arise at the 11th hour that need to be resolved. Both sides remain committed to a successful development but it is essential that members are fully informed before any decisions are made." In the meantime, CNS this week denied renewed rumours that Sainsbury's was withdrawing as a partner in the scheme. "As we have stated before, the joint venture partnership of Sainsbury's and Crest Nicholson remains fully committed to the regeneration of the East Street area," their statement said. "Sainsbury's continues to play a major part in the development proposals, working with the rest of the development team in bringing about a scheme that will make the area a more attractive place for people to live, shop and enjoy." The statement referred to the scheme as "at a relatively early stage", with a decision on funding the commercial element of the development not yet made. One option was a forward funding agreement, with funding usually coming from a pension fund or insurance company. "At the same time, as two large blue chip companies Crest and Sainsbury's also have the means to finance the development internally, should they so choose, which is another possibility."
