Consultation Results
The analysis of an independent public consultation (held in Autum 2009 and now closed) into proposals by Sainsbury’s to restart the Penrith New Squares development showed Eden residents were split on which approach to take.
50.3% of Eden residents favoured proceeding with Sainsbury’s, 23.9% favouring Option 1 and 26.4% favouring Option 2. However, 49.7% preferred Option 3, to not proceed and remarket the Southend Road site. In the geographical analysis of those residents who responded from the Penrith town area, there was a small majority that favoured Option 3, whilst in the remainder of Eden there was a small majority that favoured either Option 1 or 2.
Over 3,800 (approx 13% of households surveyed/leaflets sent out) took part in the public consultation, which was conducted by Local Dialogue, an independent consultation company.
The public consultation put before Eden residents had the same three options that Councillors have open to them to determine the future of the Penrith New Squares development, namely:
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Option 1 (Council’s preferred option): A 78,000 sq ft gross Sainsbury’s (50,000 sq ft net sales space) which would see Sainsbury’s fully fund phase one of the project and on completion, the site will be fully functional. Phase two will be part-funded by Sainsbury’s with a modest grant contribution required before phase two can begin. This could delay the opening of other shops within the development.
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Option 2: A 90,000 sq ft gross Sainsbury’s (60,000 sq ft net sales space) will see Sainsbury’s fully fund phases one and two, which means other shops could be open sooner.
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Option 3: To remarket the Southend Road site to find an alternative investor, developer and supermarket operator.
Feedback cards were received from across Penrith and the wider Eden District. Penrith postal codes accounted for 30% of the total cards returned, with 66.9% from within the Eden area. 235 people took part in the consultation online and qualitative findings are also included in the report such as additional comments people have made on their feedback forms or posted on internet sites such as Facebook.
Summary of Consultation findings
Read the summary of the consulation findings prepared by Local Dialogue (PDF: 342Kb /26 pages).
Your comments on each option
Contained below are the comments made by members of the public who responded to the consultation on each of the three options open to the Council for the future of the development.
Penrith New Squares Exhibition - Video Booth
From the 17 September until the 19 September (inclusive), the Council, alongside Sainsbury's held an exhibition at Penrith Leisure Centre to highlight the options for consultation on Penrith New Squares.
A video booth was used on the day to capture the views of young people in the area. That video is available at http://edenmedia.org.uk/pns/pns-consultation-video/ . Full transcripts of the video are available below.
