Plans for two £25m blocks of flats close to Plymouth’s waterfront have been significantly scaled back but work could start as soon as 2022 - and plans for a £60m 21-storey tower have been brought forward.
Development company Sutton Harbour Group has submitted pre-application documents to Plymouth City Council proposing reducing the size of its planned schemes at Sutton Road East and St John’s Bridge.
The two blocks, at Sutton Harbour, were originally planned to be 16 and 12 floors high, but now it is proposed they are shrunk to 12 and 10 storeys respectively..
More Sutton Harbour Group news
An Amended Design Option also says it is proposed to cut the number of homes in the development by 15%, with a corresponding reduction in parking spaces.
The Sutton Road East block would have 95 flats, instead of 111, and St John’s Bridge would come down to 90 from 108. Overall there would be 34 fewer homes
It is now envisioned that the Sutton Road East block be constructed first, and then followed by another scheme - the 21-storey Sugar Quay tower, right on the waterside.
It had previously been planned that this separate development would follow completion of both the other schemes, but now it is envisioned it will be built as soon as Sutton Road East is constructed,.
The Sutton Road East and St John’s Bridge developments have been priced at £25m each, and Sugar Quay, already granted planning consent, at £60m.
Most Read
The revised plans also include creation of a new street, with shop fronts, and a connection to a new urban park. There would also be a pedestrianised walkway to the north of the completed development. It is envisaged that St John’s Bridge contains three live/work units, and Sutton Road East has seven commercial units and a kiosk.
In December 2020 Sutton Harbour Group completed the purchase of a site just east of the harbour, on Sutton Road for the new developments. The company is hopeful of a start on site with the first of the Sutton Road developments in Summer 2022.
The revised plans were submitted after Sutton Harbour Group raised £3.5m from its shareholders to fund new developments. The AIM-listed company saw an open offer of about 14million shares entice existing shareholders and an application was made to the London Stock Exchange for the shares to be traded on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) from Tuesday, August 3.
A report on the group’s results for the year to the end of March 2021, published in early July, said the open share offer was intended “to support the completion of the Harbour Arch Quay development, provide headroom to invest in other strategic sites and support the costs of planning and professional fees”.
Work is understood to be about to commence on the nine-storey Harbour Arch Quay development, next to the Salt Quay House tower at Sutton Harbour. Sutton Harbour Group has been planning the block since 2017 and now is ready to start digging.
The company has promised a “contemporary” and “striking” apartment block. It would contain 14 flats: six with two bedrooms and eight with three bedrooms. On the ground floor there would be a commercial unit, which could be used as a shop, cafe, restaurant or even a gym.
The Harbour Arch Quay site was formerly known as Horsewash House, because it was where working ponies were brought to be cleaned.
Don’t miss
A report to investors earlier in 2021 said the building is due for completion in just a year's time and said Sutton Harbour Group had arranged separate development financing to fund the Harbour Arch Quay scheme. The report said good levels of informal interest had been received for the development.
How to contact William Telford and Business Live
Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
To contact William: Email: william.telford@reachplc.com - Phone: 01752 293116 - Mob: 07584 594052 - Twitter: - LinkedIn: - Facebook:
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion in the South West. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute. To sign up for Business Live's daily newsletters click .
And visit the Business Live South West LinkedIn page
Sutton Harbour Group also claims to have “ready proposals” for the 113-acre ex-airport site, at Derriford in the north of the city, which has been unused, apart from as storage, for nearly 10 years.
Annual results revealed Sutton Harbour Group had made a £2m loss in the 2020/21 year, but this was mainly due to Covid and lockdown issues, and it was expected that finances would recover.