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Barton Turns Marina
Hotel and Leisure Development
Next stage completed
A number of guests were invited to a champagne reception to celebrate the completion of the second stage of the Barton Turns Marina development. TV star Jane Rossington raised the Marina Flag to signal the completion of the Chandlers, service shop, toilets, laundry & shower block and the slipway and maintenance building. This marked the completion of the Marina operation. The final stage of the development will be the hotel, leisure centre, pub, restaurants and shops expected to be completed during the next two years. The marina facility is already well used and should be a wonderful addition to tourism in the area. See Opening for photographs of the occasion.
18 July 2001
A WONDERFUL and exciting development’ this was
the description of the Barton Turns Marina by members of East
Staffordshire Borough Council when they approved the project last
week. Barton will have an 80-bedroom hotel with a leisure centre, pub,
two restaurants and seven craft-related shops. After a site meeting,
members of the planning committee unanimously voted against their
officers’ recommendation to turn down the plan They did not think it
would significantly prejudice future employment and development plans
for the area. This decision comes about ten years after the marina
scheme was proposed. Jeff Mason, design associates for the developer,
expressed delight at the result. This plan had received the support of
Barton’s Parish Council.
31 May 2001
Two planning applications have been submitted by
Jeff Mason Design Associates. These refer to the final phase of the
Barton Marina project, which was first granted outline approval in
1992. Since detailed consent was granted in 1993,
the lakes and extensive tree planting has taken place and the
marina has been filled with water and should be ready for boats in
August 2000. The site is allocated for leisure facilities and a marina
in the recently Approved Local Plan. The scheme has been amended to
reflect current trends in tourism whilst staying within that
allocation.
Application No. 1 includes i) Amendments to the
design and siting of the hotel and leisure centre. The number of
bedrooms has been reduced from 120 to 80. The remaining public areas
are similar in floor area as before. The health & leisure area has
been increased in size to suit modem demands including the provision
of spa facilities. The hotel restaurant will be sited on stilts to
create an ‘island’ restaurant in the lake bridged to the main
hotel building. The profile of the lake currently incorporates the
piling platform for this unique feature and this will be removed on
completion. ii) Detailed approval
of public house. This will incorporate family dining
facilities, children’s play area and an adults only section. The
marina bank has already been shaped and reinforced to site the public
house as a waterside feature with a boarded outdoor seating area
projecting over the waters edge. iii) Detailed approval of cafes & craft shops. This is visually an important
element to the revised scheme, which will create an attractive harbour
scene by linking the public house as a waterside promenade to the
hotel. The original proposals show a rather fragmented development
whereas the proposed layout of buildings, footpaths and landscaping
provides for a more integral and attractive scheme confined within a
specific area of the site. It is intended that these small units will
be restricted to cafes/restaurants, National Forest information centre,
craft shops, the sale of locally produced goods, chandlery and sale of
tourist/outdoor leisure related goods in accordance with the local
plan designation.
Application No. 2 includes i) Amendments to the
marina facilities building. This is now a smaller building as the
first floor flat and chandlery has been deleted. The building
incorporates toilets and showers for the purpose of the boat users,
together with a boat store as before. ii)
Detailed approval of the marina services compound. The compound
incorporates facilities for the boats, i.e. refuse bins, fuel and
sewerage pump out. iii) Amendment to the plan profile of the marina. The
surface water area is identical in area but has been reshaped to
provide an improved layout of the jetties and manoeuvrability of the
boats. iv) Amendments to
access road, footpaths & details of footbridge. The access
road incorporates a bus turning area and we are discussing the
services to the site with a local bus company. Footpaths will be
extended around the whole of the site and will incorporate a
footbridge over the canal access, to improve public access for
walkers. v) Extended tree planting scheme in addition to the 1997
approved Restoration and Aftercare Scheme. We have liased with the
National Forest Company who has advised us of the tree species to
extend the planting scheme. This will create the appearance of a
natural clearing in the forest within which the marina development
will be sited. The landscaping is integral to the proposals and
incorporates mounds to screen car-parking areas.
Owing to fluctuation of the water table, the
consent for a canal lock (application PAI2 1110/005) will not be
implemented. The water level of the marina will therefore be the same
as the canal by the importation of clay puddling to create a
waterproof lining to the basin. This has been agreed with British
Waterways.
The total number of car parking spaces has been
reduced compared with the previously approved scheme. The original
consent was granted after consideration of a Traffic Impact Assessment
for the Department of Transport. The current proposals introduce
facilities for cyclists, coach parking and bus penetration. The nature
of the development will create maximum traffic to the marina complex
during minimum traffic periods of the A38 road, e.g. Sundays.
Although operators have not yet been chosen for the
various elements, experience elsewhere suggests 60 full-time and 90
part-time equivalent jobs will be created through this £10 million
development.
The application is supported by artist’s
impressions. We are confident that these express a true perspective of
the proposals and well illustrates the quality of the scheme, which
will be an asset to the local area and the Borough.
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| Barton Turns Marina Plan | Artist's impression of the promenade of shops and public house viewed from Marina. | Artist's impression of the Hotel and leisure centre viewed from the lake. |
