£140m investment proposals set to transform both ends of high street (From Sutton Guardian)

Two huge development proposals presented at Sutton Local Committee meeting

5:00am Thursday 15th November 2012 in News Exclusive By James Pepper

£140m investment proposals set to transform both ends of high street

Two massive developments costing £140m are set to create 1,250 jobs and transform Sutton town cente.

The new developments at opposite ends of the high street will bring the biggest ever investment into the borough, and with it jobs at hotels, cafés, shops and a global company, which is planning to build its HQ in the town centre.

Construction work on the projects, which it is hoped will bring Sutton alongside Croydon and Kingston as a south London hub, will begin next year if planning applications in early 2013 are successful.

In a radical revamp of the town centre landscape, the gas works site and the Zurich building at the North end of town will be demolished and the gas network moved under ground.

A 66,000 sq ft Sainsbury's supermarket, 20,000 sq ft bigger than the one in North Cheam will be the centrepiece of the £50m LXB development at the much-maligned site at the North end of the high street.

Meanwhile at the other end of town at Sutton Point, on Sutton Court Road, an £80-90m investment by developers CNM will transform the destitute area into a burgeoning public plaza alongside the proposed Tramlink hub.

At Tuesday's Sutton Local Committee meeting, developers CNM and LXB presented proposals to councillors and residents with gasps coming from the audience as the plans were revealed.

Lord Tope and Leader of Sutton Council Ruth Dombey spoke of the importance of maintaining train links to central London and both urged residents to visit a exhibition for the "gateway" into the town centre on November 30 and December 1 on the 7th floor of the Zurich building - which will be highest point of the new development - to see the proposed Sutton North site from above.

At the exhibition of the Sutton north site at the end of the month, plans will be unveiled for a 120 bedroom hotel, 150 apartments and 10-15 retail units creating 500 new jobs, but only after the remediation and decontamination of the gas works and the widening of the high street to cope with the extra traffic.

Roger Hayes, from the Sutton Point project told the audience there had been extensive meetings with Transport for London over the proposed Tramlink extension to the borough, but wouldn't say who the "significant employer" for the site was.

The Sutton Point site will also house a mix of residential, office space and retail, with three floors to be added to the existing building which will be stripped back and re clad.

Developers CNM say it will have a gross development value of £80-£90m with work completed in 2015.

Councillor Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council, said: "I'm delighted that major developers and businesses are taking such an interest in Sutton as a good place to invest and provide jobs.

"The proposed site developments on the North Sutton (Gas works) site at the bottom of the High Street and the Sutton Point site near the station are still under discussion and offer us a real opportunity to encourage economic growth in the area. That’s good for everyone - it means homes, jobs and prosperity."

Paul Cawthorne from Sutton Chamber of Commerce said he welcomed the news. He said: "This will really put Sutton on the map and give Croydon and Kingston something to think about. The gas works has been an opportunity site for some time so it's positive things appear to be moving."