South Holland District Council again rejects One Stop Shop bid for new Spalding store
A second bid to convert a former antique store into a convenience shop has not proved to be lucky after it has again been rejected by planners.
One Stop Shop wants to open up a new site in Albert Street, Spalding, and hoped to overturn South Holland District Council’s previous refusal of their application by arguing that there was a need for its services.
However, planning officers state that the One Stop Shop would not meet the needs of nearby residents - based on a retail assessment which accompanied the application.
The officer’s decision notice states: “Based upon this assessment, it is not considered that the unit would help to serve the community along Albert Street or the land to the west of the site; both of which are adequately accommodated for by the stores identified by the submitted assessment (namely Londis, 8 Holbeach Rd and Spalding Express, 24 Commercial Road).
“Although temporarily closed for renovations, it is considered that Acacia Stores (101 Acacia Avenue) adequately addresses the needs for a convenience store for residents to the north of Albert Street.
“While there is a greater deficiency of retail space to the south of the site, it is not considered that a unit on Albert Street would meet the needs of these residents to a significantly greater extent than what is currently available to these residents.
“For a significant proportion of residents along Halmer Gate, and the streets emerging from this road, the town centre or Tesco Express (Matmore Gate) are closer than the proposed unit.
“The majority of those residents who are located over 800 metres from these sites would still be within 800 metres of alternative stores outlined within the retail assessment. Similarly, there is somewhat of a geographic deficiency of stores to the east of the site; however, the unit at 39 Albert Street would be no more accessible than its counterparts previously mentioned.”
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