Agenda item

The Corporate Lead for Placemaking and Major Projects and Corporate Lead for New Communities presented a report giving an update on ongoing projects within Cranbrook town centre, including a number of land transfers together with the commercial project of Cranbrook and the health and leisure campus.

The Group noted the following:

Land Transfers:

·        Land parcel TC1 is in the process of transfer from the New Community partners to Devon County Council.

·        Adjacent to TC1 is land parcel TC2 which represents the remaining land north of Tillhouse Road and south of the Country Park. This land is due for transfer to East Devon District Council. The site is in part expected to accommodate The Tillhouse building for Cranbrook Town Council, together with Cranbox (discussed below) and therefore there will need to be an onward transfer of part of the site to the Town Council once the precise boundaries of the transfer have been established.

·        The New Community partners have made an offer to transfer land parcel TC4b to Devon County Council, in line with their existing legal obligations.

·        Land parcel TC4c will also be due for offer to East Devon District Council and once transferred will mean that the council will own all the remaining TC4 land parcels.

Town Centre Masterplan and Delivery Strategy

A masterplan narrative was endorsed by the council in October 2024, identifying high level principles for the development of the town centre and locations for key uses. Since then, projects for the health and leisure campus have been established and this report gives further information about that. This has altered the location of these uses from that previously identified, in part due to a change in the facilities mix, to ensure that the swimming facilities are sized to account for the proposed new town of Marlcombe.

As part of wider work being undertaken by the council to explore how the new town of Marlcombe can be developed alongside and complementary to Cranbrook and the Enterprise Zone sites, AHR architects have been appointed to develop the next stage of masterplan. This work is in the early stages of development and will engage officers and members of the three local authorities in its production. A high-level delivery strategy will also be produced alongside the more detailed masterplan.

Health and Leisure campus

A project team, led by AHR Architects, had been appointed following a competitive tender exercise undertaken in Autumn 2025. The team would be working towards the planning application submission stage and would work with Sport England on the proposals. 

The Group received an overview of the proposals for the health and leisure campus and were advised that the proposals would be subject to a public consultation exercise, including a survey on Common Place and a public consultation event on 11 February (at the Cranberry Farm Pub from 2pm until 8pm).  .

Cranbox

The Cranbox project continued to advance according to a revised programme. Western Buildings, the modular provider, has initiated detailed design activities under the Pre Construction Services Agreement.

A planning application for the delivery of Cranbox on land parcel TC2 was currently under review by the council.

At present, the project remains aligned with the revised programme. Finalisation of the building design is expected by the end of February, with on-site works scheduled to commence in early April 2026 with project completion targeted for the end of September 2026.

Upon completion, ownership and management of the building and land will be transferred to Cranbrook Town Council. Occupation of the units is anticipated in Q3/Q4 of 2026/27.

Monthly progress meetings are being held with representatives from CTC. These meetings serve both to provide project updates and to facilitate CTC’s involvement in the detailed design process, ensuring the building meets operational management requirements.

RESOLVED:

To note the progress being made on the delivery of Cranbrook town centre.