Agenda item

Demolition of the existing convenience store (Class E) and construction of a new retail food store (Class E) to be occupied by Co-operative Food Ltd.
Mace Convenience Store, Townfoot, Rothbury, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE65 7SL

Demolition of the excising convenience store (Class E) and construction of new retail food store (Class E) to be occupied by Co-Operative LTD.

Mace Convenience Store, Town Foot, Rothbury, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE65 7SL

J. Sharp introduced the application with the aid of a presentation, and gave the following updates:

·       There had been a late submission from the adjacent land owner disputing the timeline of events relating to discussions that took place with the applicant regarding potential use of the land adjacent to the site.

·       An update had been circulated, from the agent with their version of events, these had been noted but did not affect the assessment of the planning officer and the recommendation. 

·       There were several errors on the report, the paragraph numbers from 7.7 onwards and a typo on 7.33 which should state “proposal is in accordance with this” instead of “proposal is not in accordance with this”

Chris Hoult spoke in opposition to the application and informed members that:

·       There were concerns around highway safety on the development site, including road conditions and car parking.

·       The argument around no increased traffic was misleading, the Co-Op would sell a wider range of goods and were looking for increased footfall, which meant that there would be additional traffic and demand for parking spaces around Townfoot.

·       Residents would rather drive than carry shopping up a hill.

·       The application site was situated on a busy road through Rothbury, which was used by lorry traffic in connection with quarrying and forestry operations, as well as farm traffic.

·       There were limited parking spaces in Townfoot, in connection with parking with local residents with no on-street parking. Commercial vehicles were regularly double-parked.

·       Visibility was an issue when accessing Rothbury from the east and when drivers were exiting residential areas.

Councillor John Devin spoke on behalf of the Parish Council and gave the following information:

·       A new purpose-built convenience store was required in the town, but there were concerns over this location site.

·       The application was larger than the previous Mace store and would increase vehicle traffic to Townfoot.

·       The speed and amount of traffic which would be generated by the proposed new store, which was opposite to a large residential estate and a First School.

·       A site visit should be held during busy times of the day, for example the end of the school day.

·       The conditions of the approval were inadequate, the issues of parking and road safety were not addressed. 

Councillor S. Bridgett spoke as the Local Member and gave the following information:

·       A new Co-Operative store was well overdue, but the problem residents had with the application was traffic management.

·       There was no mitigation proposed to help with the parking issue in Townfoot, and there was a loss of total parking spaces due to the two EV charging points being installed.

·       Without mitigation, someone would be seriously injured or killed on that road.

·       Councillor Bridgett suggested stringent conditions and an independent report commissioned over a 12-month period where the applicant would have to provide parking mitigation based on the report.

Ben Harvey then spoke in support of the application and gave the following information:

·       The existing Co-Op site had significant problems with the internal layout including accessible access.

·       The Co-Op had an agreement with the owners of the Mace Store which was due to complete April/May 2022, the Post Office had been organised to temporarily move to the existing Co-op store.

·       The benefits of the application included: more employment during construction activities, 15 jobs when the application was completed, annual salaries for the area, accessibility, and increased product range.

·       There was an inherent highways issue with Rothbury, including a lack of parking turnover, the existing Mace store was able to trade without issue.

Following questions from members to the planning officer, the following information was given:

·       Highways Development Manager advised that there was not an increased severe risk in regards to highway safety in relation to the application.

·       Parking was close to the limit in Rothbury but as it was an existing issue the committee would have to prove that this application would exacerbate the problem.

·       A  delivery and service management plan would be put in place as part of planning conditions.

·       Demolition of the existing Mace store would be necessary due to accessibility and internal layout.

·       The new Co-Op would have fewer deliveries and as part of the planning conditions, the store would not be serviced by articulated lorries but by ridged vehicles.

·       Additional refuse collections would not be needed as delivery vehicles would remove the Co-Operatives refuse.

Councillor Thorne recommended approval of the officer’s recommendation with additional conditions added to monitor the parking impacts and to consider the relocation of the EV chargers from outside the proposed store to a more appropriate area with the wording of these conditions to be delegated to the Director of Planning in consultation with the Chair of the Planning Committee and stated that it was a great opportunity for Rothbury and a modern efficient building would enhance the streetscape.

This was seconded by Councillor Watson, who stated that on balance it was a good proposal as the application was on the outskirts of the town and a new co-op was needed.

Councillor Castle suggested a site visit may be helpful for members to understand the layout of Rothbury and the implications of opening a new store in that area, this was supported by Councillor Hill, however Councillor Thorne advised he did not wish to withdraw his motion to approve the application.

A vote was taken on the motion to approve the application with the additional conditions regarding the monitoring of car parking and the relocation of the proposed EV charging points with delegated authority to the Director of Planning in consultation with the Chair of Planning Committee to agree the wording as follows:  FOR 7; AGAINST 4; ABSTENSION 0. 

RESOLVED that the application be GRANTED with the conditions outlined in the report, with additional conditions in respect of the monitoring of car parking and the relocation of the proposed EV charging points with delegated authority to the Director of Planning in consultation with the Chair of Planning Committee to agree the wording.