New garden centre won't hit Oswestry town trade, say developers
A new out-of-town garden centre would not take significant trade away from the centre of Oswesy, developers behind the application say.
Revised plans for a garden centre just off the Oswestry bypass have been resubmitted after the original application was refused by Shropshire Council planners who said they had not been given enough information.
Local company, Knotwood Ltd, of Coed-y-go near Oswestry, wants to build a 4,897-metre garden centre on 5.6 acres of land on the edge of the town.
The garden centre would sell a wide range of gardening goods and related products and also include an ancillary café, offices and storage space.
There would be 210 car parking spaces on the site which, the company says, would have a £6.5 million-plus turnover.
A retail impact study, prepared for the planning application, says the development would have a very little effect on the town centre of Oswestry as there is a lack of such goods on sale there, particularly following the closure of the Homebase store.
The report claims people shop outside the town for garden products.
"It is is considered that only 15 per cent of the turnover of the garden centre will be diverted from Oswestry itself," the report says.
"The remainder will be clawed back from outside the town including, principally, the existing garden centres at Moreton Park and Shrewsbury and Wrexham.
"Due to this modest diversion of trade from Oswestry town centre and the healthy nature of the centre, it is clear that there will be no significant adverse impact upon the vitality and viability of the centre as a result of the proposed development."
The report acknowledges that there are two food store sites with planning permission – the Aldi site on Shrewsbury Road which is under construction and the Cattle Market site which, the report says, appears to have stalled.
"Neither of these sites are within the town centre therefore any impact upon their delivery as a result of the proposed development is not a material planning consideration. Notwithstanding this, it is considered that given their differing offers being principally food-led and not selling a large proportion of garden centre products, it is considered that there will be no material effect upon these investments as a result of the proposed development."
