100-075-935 (Image Credit: DPP Consulting Ltd)
The application site contained two 11 storey blocks of flats owned by the council together with a long stay car park and a sports centre, both of which were also owned by the local authority. The applicants proposed to demolish the existing buildings and erect a 11,187 sq.m. gross store which would replace the company’s town centre store extending to 2,778 sq.m. gross. The applicants stated that the new store would be sited within 160 metres of the primary shopping area and enable their existing store to be redeveloped. Funds generated by the scheme would support the council’s aspirations to provide a new sports centre.
An inspector noted that the existing store, while located within the primary shopping area, was no closer to the primary retail frontages than the proposed store. Although shoppers would have to cross a dual-carriageway road, this was not a strong physical barrier since there was a range of crossing facilities. In his opinion, the site could therefore be argued to be edge of centre. In so concluding he rejected a claim by a rival retailer that its site should be preferred, ruling that it was subject to significant highway constraints which had yet to be resolved. The scheme would not have an adverse impact on the town centre and existing out of centre stores had no protection from commercial competition. In any event, they appeared to be over-trading relative to company averages and therefore more resilient to trade diversion.
The secretary of state generally agreed with these views. In his opinion, seeking to develop smaller food stores on one or more of the town centre sites was less likely to lead to the benefits attributable to the scheme before him. It would secure the redevelopment of the existing store leading to benefits to the centre as a whole and would create a significant number of new jobs.
Inspector Robert Mellor; Inquiry
