Retail park with care home, gym, KFC and Starbucks planned for former pitch and putt site
A former pitch & putt site is set to become home to a retail park and a residential care home.
The Meole Brace site in Shrewsbury was previously owned by Shropshire Council, but was sold to developers in 2019.
Now the council's planning committee is expected to approve a proposal for the site, on land off the south of Hazledine Way, which has come from Cordwell Leisure Developments and Avery Healthcare.
Planning officers have recommended approval for the proposal, which will go before the committee on May 2.
If approved it will see the creation of a new 'mixed use development', containing a gym, drive-thru coffee shop, drive-thru restaurant, a tanning and beauty salon, as well as a residential care home.
The entrance for the retail site would be off Oteley Road, with the exit onto Hazledine Way, while the entrance and the exit for the care home would be off a separate access on Oteley Road.
Plans for the development show that the retail park will be made up of three main buildings – one drive-thru marked as a KFC, another drive-thru marked as a Starbucks, and another two-storey building on the opposite side of the development.
The two-storey building would have space for five retail units on the ground floor and a gym on the first floor.
The car park will include 100 spaces.
The care home will have 80 bedrooms across two and three floors, with communal facilities including lounge and dining areas, a cinema room, library, and therapy rooms.
Its car park will have 38 spaces, and the development is expected to create between 70 and 80 jobs.
Shrewsbury Town Council has objected to the plan – along with a number of members of the public.
The town council objections said members considered the plan would be 'over-development' of the site, while they also raised concerns about highways and the lack of green space for the care home.
They added that they were concerned about the development being "very car-centric", and would be 'crammed on' to a small site.
They also said that "the proposed exit road on to Hazledine Way was dangerous as the road had a speed limit of 50mph".
A paper prepared by council planning officer Kevin Hall recommends that councillors approve the plan.
It states: "The proposed development would provide a mixed-use development of retail, leisure, restaurant, café and residential care home within the development boundary of Shrewsbury.
"The care home would provide specialist housing for older people, the need for which national planning guidance states is ‘critical’, and the location for which is acceptable under Development Plan policy.
"The assessments undertaken as part of the planning application conclude that the proposed commercial element of the scheme meets the requirements of the sequential test in terms of its out-of-town centre location, and that it would not have a significant adverse impact on the town centre."
It adds that it is satisfied concerns over impacts on the road network are not serious enough to refuse the proposal.
It states: "The access and egress arrangement are acceptable in principle following modifications to the proposal, and the residual concerns can be addressed through further design work which can be agreed as part of planning conditions. In addition opportunities to maximise sustainable modes of transport can be agreed as part of a Travel Plan for the commercial units."
The report also champions the potential boost to the economy.
It states: "The proposal would result in economic and social benefits in terms of employment creation, investment, housing provision, and commercial development. It is predicted that the care home would create between 70 and 80 jobs."
