Studies launched in Lowestoft

A SERIES of key technical studies on swathes of land in Lowestoft are set to be carried out in the coming weeks.

Urban Regeneration Company (URC) 1st East commissioned the studies for 'the priority regeneration areas' in both Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

And after inviting tenders from companies earlier this year those successful will now provide a range of information through the studies which have been commissioned to gather more details about the prime waterfront areas around Lowestoft in an effort to further attract developers to progress six area action plans at Brooke Peninsula, East of England Park, Fishers' Wharf, Kirkley Waterfront, Lothing Crossing and Peto Square.

'Before developers can be attracted it is important to gather information such as whether the ground is contaminated and if so, how much it will cost to remediate,' a 1st East spokesman said.

'We also need to understand the capacity of the existing utilities (water, electricity, waste water) to take increased development and, of course, what the traffic impact of new homes and businesses would be.'

With the URC being encouraged by high-quality bids during the submission stage, Tomasz Kozlowski, director of development at 1st East said: 'We went through a competitive process and evaluated the submissions with our partners and I'm confident that we have chosen the best companies to undertake these studies to drive the delivery agenda forward.'

These studies are part of the development process that normally would be undertaken by private sector developers. But as 1st East's chief executive, Philip Watkins, explained they form part of the URC's role.

'Our remit is to take some of the risk and cost out of the development process,' Mr Watkins said. 'Given the current market conditions and the general economic situation it's important that we do all we can to make it easier for businesses to invest in regeneration.'