Shrewsbury retail store extending its range to include garden centre

The Range, on the town’s Sundorne Retail Park, will add a garden centre to its existing store after permission was approved to convert a section of the car park into retail space by local authority planners.

The scheme will see 11 parking spaces hived off by three metre high metal fencing to form a new retail area of 444 square metres to the right hand side of the existing building, with alterations to an existing fire exit at the site.

New external lighting and netting over the roof are also included in the scheme to discourage so-called “throwover theft”.

Prior to approving the application, Shropshire Council added conditions to protect trees near to the site with the use of temporary tree fencing during construction works, after a survey revealed 12 trees of “moderate quality” whose roots could be impacted by the development.

The authority’s highways team had also sought reassurances that the reduced parking provision would not be detrimental to the site.

“The retail use is as a garden centre and the merchandise will be screened to some extent by the fence and the existing trees and shrubs between the boundary and the road,” said a report prepared by council planning officer Alison Titchford.

“The addition of the fence to the north west boundary of the site will be adequately appropriate in its context adjacent to retail warehouses and superstores where the existing banking, shrubs and trees are to be retained to the perimeter of the site between the garden centre and the footpath to the A5112 and will ensure adequate softening of the built structure and some screening.”

“SAMDev Policy S16 indicates that in the Shrewsbury Northern Corridor a priority is the enhancement of major exiting commercial areas. The proposed works to provide an external retail area are acceptable in principle in this location.”