It gave us great pleasure this week to announce that work has started on the site of the former Torrington works in Darlington.

Yarm Road Interchange, a multi-million pound, mixed-use commercial property development is fantastic news for the town and the wider area.

It’s especially encouraging to see land that has stood dormant for eight years return to life following the Torrington closure back in 2003.

With the first phase of construction now underway, the site will soon be home to a new four-storey 60-bed Travelodge, a Toby Carvery, up to 4,000 sq ft of retail / restaurant space as well as a speculative 17,000 sq ft industrial / warehouse scheme.

We acted on behalf of Commercial Development Projects Limited (CDP), to secure the planning approval, and are now starting to market the scheme.

The 4,000 sq ft restaurant unit is available for sale or let, and the space can be subdivided if required.

This scheme actually represents the first speculative industrial development to take place in the North East since 2007 and there has been some good early interest in the units from parties looking to capitalise on its excellent transportation links and close proximity to Darlington’s town centre.

It’s hugely encouraging to see developers like CDP, eager to move forward with their plans and bring new, much-needed stock to the market.

We will be charting Yarm Road Interchange’s successes and milestones as they unfold, so keep checking back to our blog for the latest news.

Scooters and Bicycles, Vehicles, Spares and Equipment – Bidding closes: from 12 noon Thursday 9 February 2012

For more details please click here

Our Machinery and Business Assets team offer a comprehensive range of services. Whether you need a detailed valuation of machinery, or a desk appraisal, or you want to sell a single machine to a factory full of assets – we can help.

2012 has begun with a renewed call for more prime office development as Grade A space in the prime areas remains at a low level with little new supply on the horizon.

At present, Leeds’ largest occupiers may soon have to make the choice between staying put and moving to a fringe location, unless new builds can be brought forward which is increasingly unlikely thanks to the continued restrictions on finance.

As far as plans go to tackle this within the industry, there is a continued emphasis on the forthcoming major lease events in the city that are due to take place between 2013 and 2017 that will hopefully lead to a shake up for the office sector.

The fact that businesses have to consider moving away owing to the lack of choice, serves only to highlight how office development in the city needs to make changes to ensure it moves forward in these uncertain times.

Slowly, we are starting to see developers approaching new projects differently.

As many will know, any speculative office development, even with a partial pre-let in place is problematic to fund, and lining up multiple office pre-lets to fill a building is extremely difficult. Hence, developers are once again looking closely at a mixed-use profile as a way of kick-starting their office schemes.

Whilst for some office occupiers the prospect of sharing their building with retail or leisure facilities is horrifying, it seems that mixed-use buildings could increasingly be the norm if building in the city is to progress.

One such scheme is Whitehall Plaza. Located at 1 Whitehall Road, it plans to combine a 130-bed Premier Inn with 50,000 sq ft of Grade A office space. Its make-up should provide greater financial certainty for investors with building work set to begin during 2012.

Indigo Blu is another example of a mixed-use building, notable for being one of the few to complete during 2011. The project unites over 10,000 sq ft of office accommodation with 46 residential apartments above.

While this type of scheme is not a new phenomenon, it is likely that smaller, new-build Grade A office and mixed-use buildings will become more prevalent, as developers strive to maintain a level of progress in the face of one of the toughest economies of recent times.

These are:

•    An end to councillor ‘pre-determination’ – Planning committee members, who have expressed a view about a specific planning application before it comes to committee, will no longer be excluded from voting on it. It is hoped that this will allow councillors to talk openly about proposed developments thus improving local democracy and development scrutiny.

•    The introduction of local finance as a material consideration when deciding planning applications. Committees will be able to consider financial incentives associated with developments when determining planning consent. This has been criticised for being a means for developers to ‘buy’ planning approvals. The RTPI have also been critical of this as they believe that finance provision will impact on fair and transparent decision making.

It will be interesting to see if these new provisions will create better dialogue between residents, developers and stakeholders. Or, will they cause new levels of mistrust and legal obstacles to development? We are all going to have to wait and see…

Much of the success of the Localism Act depends on the final National Planning Policy Framework. This is due out any time now and will no doubt lead to more scrutiny in parliament and the national media – keep checking our blog for the latest updates as the news is announced.

Yes, the tests for the next twelve months may appear to be the same as 2011, tough trading conditions and changing markets. However, there is certainly a lot to look forward to in 2012 and plenty of reasons to be optimistic for what the year has in store.

Nationally, events such as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee are set to bring cheer to many sectors. Prime Minister, David Cameron, is already predicting a ‘billion pound boost’ across the UK.

In fact, just over a fortnight in, we are already seeing success stories coming through. In Leeds a £30m office and hotel development close to the busy city rail station has been given the go-ahead and we are seeing a high level of occupier interest for this property in particular.

A new high-speed rail line (HS2) connecting the South with the Midlands and North has also been given the green light.

Train builder, Hitachi, is currently bidding to design and maintain the new fleet of high-speed trains from its Newton Aycliffe base in the North East, great news for spin-off suppliers in the area.

Looking ahead overall, as was the case in the last few months of 2011, the main activity will continue to be focused on making the most of existing market assets, until finance becomes more readily available for new development.

2012 will not be without its ups and downs but we remain positive and relish the challenges of the coming months.

We will, of course, share all of our news and opinions with you via our blog and we look forward to hearing from you.

Of the £854m set aside to aid 21 transport schemes across England, £82.6m has been allocated to the New Wear Crossing in Sunderland as well as £21.1m for the Morpeth Northern Bypass which will link the A1 to south east Northumberland.

This is fantastic news!

Our Regeneration Team has been working on the New Wear Crossing project with Sunderland City Council since 2005, preparing the acquisition strategy for all the land assets along the corridor that will enable the creation of England’s tallest bridge.

(No less than 187m high with a 336m long bridge deck, it will cross the River Wear from Castletown on the north side of the river to Pallion on the south…)

To-date, this project has faced two main challenges. The first being funding and the second, the confirmation of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) that will allow the project to obtain the land mass needed for construction.

We have been working with the in-house estates team to deliver the acquisition strategy and have been called on to act as experts in the provision of evidence for the public inquiry for the proposed CPO for the land necessary to build the bridge and associated roads.

Once confirmation is obtained, the scheme will progress with construction works beginning later in 2012 with a completion date of autumn 2015.

Public sector regeneration schemes akin to the Sunderland and Morpeth projects often include at least some land which is not in public ownership and our expertise is often called upon to deliver wider strategic work needed to successfully promote a CPO.

Our team works in tandem with legal advisors and the design team throughout the CPO process.

The new bridge over the Wear will mark Phase 2 of the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor and will provide a trigger for regeneration in the area which will benefit both the Sunderland community and the wider North East region.

Generally, her examination of the high street is to be commended. Coming from a retail background her report is both refreshing and thorough.

She has managed to recycle a number of initiatives which have previously failed to gain influence, momentum and ultimately success but to be fair, that was likely the result of poor or non-existent funding previously.

Portas’ idea of “Town Teams” could work as long as they are funded properly and have the right mix of retailers (local and national), landlords as well as local politicians – all of whom need to have the desire, interest and ability to make the individual town centre concerned succeed.

The recommendation for “Super-BIDs” could again be a shrewd move. So far, existing BIDs have not really improved the fortunes of town centres as far as I can see. Previously, BIDs were funded entirely by ratepayers and as a result landlords had little say or influence. The new BIDs will need to be fully inclusive and all stakeholders need to be represented.

My personal favourite is the suggestion for “…local authorities should bring in free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres…” and that we should also have a new parking league table. Now we are getting there! Well done Mary.

I liked too, her idea of a “…contract of care between landlords and their commercial tenants…” I totally agree – what landlord cannot afford to do this in today’s market? There are many examples of this across the sector, from the biggest Plc landlord to the smallest single owner/investor. We are all in this together.

On the flip side, Portas’ suggestion of making it easier for people to become market traders needs to be carefully thought about. If Mary wants to encourage anyone to set up a pitch on the high street, you’ve got to consider how that will affect the successful businesses already represented and who are paying rates and rent for their fixed locations. Market traders already pay no rates and low rents.

Personally, I don’t agree with her recommendation to further “…explore disincentives to prevent landlords from leaving units vacant.” No landlord wants to leave a property vacant, least of all those who rely on income in the form of rent to pay the mortgage. Putting additional pressure on these owners will lead to forced sales and bad landlords moving in.

If Government really wants to make a difference and achieve the potential this report contains, then commitment through legislation and funding will both be required. We look forward to its response which is set to be delivered in the spring.

Ultimately, we need to make our town centres different, vibrant and interesting and meet the needs of the local population too. There is some good stuff in Mary’s review, let’s hope the Government can act positively and improve our high street’s fortunes.

Restrictions on public sector pay rises, outlines on future public spending and a commitment to meet the 0.7% of GDP aid target were all included in his 45-minute speech.

In terms of support for businesses, the Chancellor said that keeping interest rates low was the most powerful tool for stimulating demand.

His plans include a major programme of credit easing, a national loan guarantee scheme to be launched to fund loans to firms with a turnover of less than £50m and 50% income tax relief from April 2012 for investment in small start-up businesses of up to £100,000.

A boost to struggling small businesses in the form of business rates relief was also confirmed.

The existing business rate relief holiday will be extended by six months, taking it to April 2013 – a move that will be welcomed by 330,000 small businesses who will not pay anything and 500,000 who will continue to pay less.

The holiday offers 100% relief on business rates up to £6,000, with progressively smaller rebates on amounts up to a maximum of £12,000.

While these measures are a step in the right direction, there is certainly more that could be done, and in particular the continued imposition of 100% rates liability on long term unoccupied commercial properties.

This tax was originally introduced to encourage landlords to reduce rents but has largely failed in a market where oversupply is rife and many landlords are simply demolishing older stock. The potential rates liability is acting as a further barrier to speculative development.

Our team has found that despite this need to act and work as efficiently as possible, a high number of small and medium-sized enterprises are still unaware of the potential monies that could be recouped, following changes in operations or material alterations to business premises.

Business rates, capital allowances, utilities and internal work spaces are all potential sources of savings that sometimes go unutilised.

When it comes to paying business rates, if your property has undergone a physical change such as the removal of plant and machinery, part demolition or a change in occupation, then appealing its rateable value can prove a shrewd business decision and could result in large savings.

Partly vacant commercial premises can qualify for rates relief but like so many tax related issues, it is for the rate payer to identify and proactively seek the reduction and as such businesses should seek professional help.

There is no doubt that the Government’s decision to reduce the threshold on which business rates are charged on empty properties from £18,000 to £2,600 for the financial year 2011/2012, will have imposed a significant burden on many businesses.

Unused industrial and warehouse premises can qualify for six months of rates relief and owners who may be liable for a rates charge should take proper professional advice, to either avoid or lessen their prospective liabilities. This may include promoting short term and flexible lettings, or moving tenants around multi-let buildings to limit rates charges.

When negotiating new lease terms, the parties need to clearly agree who will receive the benefit of any empty rates relief because this type of saving is attached to the property, not the rate payer. It is common for tenants to have used up the relief before handing back the property leaving the landlord with an immediate liability and no new tenant in prospect.

Other significant bills such as sewage and drainage charges are based on site specifications, so you may need to get advice to guarantee that the correct footprint of your property or site is being used to calculate the bills.

For those who have undergone internal changes such as staffing size or who have invested in remote working IT systems – a closer examination of the internal property structure could achieve savings from a work space redesign.

Consider too, the fittings and machinery within a building as a way to make additional reductions through increased capital allowances, or why not turn surplus machinery into cash through relevant disposal services.

Capital allowances can be worth as much as 30% of the purchase price of the building.  From April 2012, it is likely that the Government will change some of the rules around capital allowance claims against plant and machinery, and impose a time limit to make a claim for tax relief of this type.

So seek out specialist advice now to ensure you receive the relief your business deserves.

The move which will restore some financial autonomy to local authorities is anticipated to encourage growth and development and has on the whole been welcomed.

However despite the enthusiasm voiced for this new level of accountability, many have raised concern over the implications for the countries poorer areas. Industrial areas in particular, struggling to entice new investment and development are likely to lose out and it is argued that the North South divide may broaden.

Whilst incentivising councils to think and act in the best interest of local business is a positive, the reality might not be quite as well received. There is a very real argument that many councils will lose out now that central distribution based on need is being rejected in favour of local control.

For the more cynical, there is a fear that the new powers which give cash strapped councils a direct interest in rates collected, might result in a focus on properties that are either under assessed or not assessed at all, rather than promoting growth and development.

Whilst local authorities will have a level of renewed control the uniform business rate is to remain at a standard national level and councils will not be given full powers to set their own rates charges, restricting council’s fiscal autonomy in the area.