We’ve been looking a little harder at the old Southern Electric site on the corner of Petersfield Road and Bartons Road.
Poole based developer Fortitudo Properties, have their sights set on building another McDonalds and another Costa Coffee on what really ought to be a northern gateway to Havant Town Centre.
It seems that even before they applied for planning permission for the container stack on the site, they had already agreed a new 25 year lease with McDonalds at a rental of £105,000 per year. With Costa, they’d already agreed a 15 year lease at £78,000 a year. At the same time, they’ve offered both companies a 6 month rent free period as an incentive.
It looks like they’ll also be offering the buyers of the flats £500 towards their legal fees and a £1,000 John Lewis or IKEA voucher.
If you’re wondering where this comes from, it’s buried in the ‘Viability Assessment‘ accompanying the planning application, the best bits of which you can read here)
Now given that there are already two McDonalds within healthy walking distance, 38 minutes to Larchwood Road and 26 minutes to West Street according to Google, we hope that HBC will take note of what they themselves have written in their own Healthy Borough Assessment. (We’ve been here before, haven’t we?)
The maths is simple, in just over five years, Fortitudo will have recouped their costs on both fast food outlets and will be turning in a healthy profit to take back to Sandbanks at the cost of the health of Havant Borough residents.
Fortitudo wouldn’t have got away with it in Poole so we don’t expect Havant Borough Council to roll over on this one.
As that regeneration banner on Park Road South says – “Have Pride in Havant”.
If you want to make a comment on this planning application, please click this link and complete the online form. Comments must be received at the council by Friday October 30th.
If you would like to support Havant Civic Society, please click here.
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Havant Civic Society 
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