Saturday, January 22, 2011

Rival stores in planning battle

Councillors are being recommended to approve plans for a Sainsbury's in Melton and turn down an application for another store 300 yards away.

Sainsbury's wants to build a store on the site of Melton Borough Council's fire-damaged former headquarters, in Nottingham Road. The council would receive about �15 million from selling the land if it goes ahead.

The council has also received an application to build a store on part of Brooksby Melton College's Asfordby Road site.

Waitrose has expressed an interest in this site and has been in talks with developers Cedar House Investment.

The money from the land sale would be used by the college to redevelop the rest of the site.

Sainsbury's says its store would create 350 full and part-time jobs.

In a statement, Sainsbury's development executive Robert Oxley said Melton was suffering from "significant trade leakage", with shoppers going elsewhere to do their food shopping.

"The location, size and parking capacity of the Sainsbury's store will help prevent this."

"No other site is capable of delivering a store of the scale needed to encourage local residents to stay in Melton for their main food shopping."

The Brooksby plan would see a new library built above the single-storey store to replace the current Wilton Road building and the retention of Melton theatre on the site.

A full-page advert taken out in this week's Melton Times newspaper by the college and Cedar House Investments said: "We want to support the future generations of Melton and have developed an ambitious master plan for the redevelopment of our teaching and learning facilities."

A Waitrose spokesman said initial discussions with the developer had been held, but no agreement was in place.

The council's development committee is being recommended to approve the Sainsbury's plan, subject to referral to the Secretary of State, and turn down the Brooksby plan.

The Sainsbury's plan was considered to meet conditions on retail impact and highways, to be accessible by public transport, walking and cycling and the building design was in keeping with the local area.

Among reasons listed for refusal of the Brooksby application by planning officers are that it would be out of keeping with its surroundings, is in a flood zone, would see sports facilities lost and have an adverse impact on the neighbouring Grove Primary School.

Mr Oxley added: "We are delighted that the council officers have recommended permission for our scheme and we hope that is echoed by the members, but it is still very much in the members' hands."

Shopper Beverley Knapp, of Melton, said she thought the store plan for the college site was a better one.

"It's more within the town centre and we don't need one the size of Sainsbury's."

The special meeting of the development committee to discuss the two plans will be held on Thursday at the Samworth Centre, in Burton Street, at 6.30pm and is open to the public.



Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503348/s/11e453e1/l/0L0Sthisisleicestershire0O0Cnews0CRival0Estores0Eplanning0Ebattle0Carticle0E31267810Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

Julian Assange JS Bach Employment law Energy efficiency Kevin Pietersen Canada

No comments:

Post a Comment