The Fairway, Stafford

FAQ's

General

1. What are the plans for the AREVA T&D site?

The proposed plans for the 54 acre site include replacing the existing AREVA T&D buildings with:

- Four office buildings - marked as A1-A4 on the site plan
- New workshops, laboratories and research buildings marked as B1-B4 on the site plan.

Together with the new facilities for AREVA T&D, the masterplan for the site includes:

- The existing Sports and Social Club, which is the largest of its type in Stafford and used by many people in the local community, will be retained and refurbished - marked as C on the site plan.
- Local shops and services - marked as E on the site plan
- New homes with a mix of two, three and four bedroomhomes - marked as F on the site plan.

2. What is the timeline for the work planned?

A planning application is due to be submitted in April 2009.

Subject to planning permission being granted, work is scheduled to begin towards the end of this year. There will then be a phased construction programme over three years for the office, workshop and research buildings.

It is anticipated that the last building will be completed in 2012. The new houses will be built post 2012, in line with market conditions.

3. What will the buildings look like?

The buildings (offices and workshops) will include modern materials as well as feature brickwork, with a mix of simple, straight and curved roofs. Building heights will range from 10 metres to 16 metres.

Building B3 is a Valve Testing Facility which will be relocated from Glover Street in the town centre. This will include a tower of up to 30 metres in height. This has been designed and located within the scheme to minimise its impact. As this is one of only three such buildings in the world, it is a great testament to its UK workforce, management and the community that AREVA T&D is building it in Stafford.

4. How much is the investment in Stafford?

The investment is approximately £55 million. This is the largest investment into AREVA T&D UK Ltd in 45 years. It signifies a massive investment across AREVA’s businesses and in the future of the company in Stafford.

5. Will there bemore jobs made available because of this re-development work?

The redevelopment is in response to the continuing changes of the T&D industry and how AREVA T&D has had to change its make up accordingly. It is not part of an expansion plan.

It is fair to say that with the successes AREVA T&D has been having recently in the market place, such as maintaining its number one position in the UK market, market leader position in the high voltage offshore substation market, and the securing of the South East Electricity Substation Alliance it is in a strong position for the future.

AREVA T&D is currently recruiting for a number of posts, however these are not in response to the development - they are in response to changing market conditions and customer requirements. Details of all current jobs can be found at www.areva-td.com/careers.

6. Is there any consolidation?

The redevelopment will include the relocation of the existing building in Glover Street. The continued presence of AREVA T&D in Stafford is very important to the economy of the town and surrounding district. AREVA T&D currently employs approximately 1,400 people in Stafford.

7. What will the working hours for the construction phase be?

All works will be carried out within the guidelines set out by the planning officers and the Environmental Health Officer. Usual hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday am, subject to the nature and location of the work being carried out.

St. Modwen will endeavour to keep any disruption to a minimum. It has adopted the Considerate Constructors Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice and is committed to working to reduce any negative impact to the area. The Considerate Constructors Scheme maintains that developers should aim to leave a positive impression on those they affect.

8. Will this development go ahead in the current economic climate?

Yes. This is a pre-let development with AREVA T&D. Global energy demands are continuing to increase, which is seeing unprecedented levels of investment in energy networks around the world and AREVA T&D needs to be positioned to maximise any opportunities. The new development will assist with this.

Environmental

9. Ecology

We have undertaken various site surveys of protected species such as water voles, bats, great crested newts, badgers and reptiles. Our surveys determined that these protected species were not present within the development area, apart from bat foraging routes through existing tree preservation order (TPO) trees.

The TPO included Manchester Black Poplar trees, all which will remain on site as the development is constructed around them.

10. Is there any contamination on the site which will need to be removed?

The redevelopment will be carried out in accordance with an agreed remediation strategy, approved by the Environment Agency. St. Modwen is the UK’s leading expert in remediating brownfield land and it has already undertaken ground investigations to determine the extent of this.

11. What impact will the development have on the local flood plain?

A Flood Risk Assessment has been prepared in line with the latest guidelines, which has used site specific river level data for the River Sow provided by the Environment Agency. The proposed development is outside of the existing 100 year (including an allowance for climate change) flood plain and does not increase flood risk to any other properties - up or downstream.

12. Transport

A Transport Assessment for the development has been carried out to assess the potential impacts that the proposed development may have on existing traffic links directly associated with the site. A Green Travel Plan prepared in consultation with Staffordshire County Council will be implemented to encourage the use of sustainable transport by staff and residents of the proposed development.

Local Community

13. What are the parking arrangements for when the development is under construction?

Temporary parking will be made available on site for all construction staff and AREVA T&D employees. This will be located at the rear of the current factory and there will be sufficient space to accommodate the current level of vehicles.

14. How many people are going to be working on site?

AREVA T&D will maintain a similar level of personnel on site (approximately 1200). St. Modwen is unable to confirm how many construction workers there will be on site until a main contractor is appointed. This is likely to be July/ August 2009.

15. What will happen to the Social Club and what provisions will bemade for the local community?

The refurbishment of the Sports & Social Club is included within the redevelopment plans. There will be external and internal improvements to the Club, completed in a phased programme of works. Certain rooms may be unavailable while they are being refurbished; however the Club will remain operational throughout.

It is hoped that the Sports & Social Club will become an even more significant feature for the local community attracting more organisations to use its facilities, which include Stafford’s largest hall available to hire.

16. What is St. Modwen?

St. Modwen is the UK’s leading regeneration specialist focusing on four key areas:
• Brownfield land renewal
• Partnerships
• Town Centre Regeneration
• Innovation and Education projects

Operating across all sectors of the property industry through a network of seven regional offices and a Birmingham based Head Office. St. Modwen is an entrepreneurial company that identifies opportunities where others do not and has the clarity of vision to turn complex and challenging sites into inspirational developments.

St. Modwen has a generation of regeneration and development experience. The company owns a land bank of over 5,000 acres across the UK on which it is currently developing over 160 regeneration projects. At the same time, the company manages over £1billion of retained assets. www.stmodwen.co.uk

17. What is AREVA T&D?

AREVA T&D is the UK’s no. 1 provider of electrical transmission and distribution technologies. The centres of global excellence sited in the UK ensure AREVA T&D is able to consistently deliver innovative solutions and services that enhance your organisation’s performance and help to protect the planet.

Being at the forefront of technology, we remain totally engaged in the evolution of the transmission and distribution industry, as we have done for many, many years. Our long history with Stafford and particularly the St Leonards Avenue and Lichfield Road sites is well known not only locally but also across our industry. It was in 1903 that the first building opened and some 800 workers started work at Lichfield Road. But it wasn’t until 1959, that construction started on what we now know to be a T&D building; the Power Transformer factory, shortly followed by the ground-breaking at the St Leonards Avenue site in 1960.

From 1903 through to the present day the site appearance and activity has been developing. Boom periods of construction were seen in 1903, 1920, 1938, 1959 and 1962, with more recent developments seen more in the changes of use rather than construction or demolition. Through the first part of the twentieth century Siemens Bros, English Electric and GEC, Alstom and now AREVA, developed both the Lichfield Road and St Leonards Avenue sites to accommodate the increasing global demand for products from Stafford. www.areva-td.com.

18. What is the relationship between St. Modwen and AREVA T&D?

St. Modwen purchased the 54 acre site on which AREVA T&D is currently located as part of its acquisition of the 500-acre Alstom portfolio in 2002. This was prior to the sale of the T&D division to AREVA in 2004.