Ludlow supermarket plan bringing up to 150 jobs set for approval
A new supermarket for Ludlow that has been more than six years in the planning is set to finally be given the green light next week.
Final designs for the Sainsbury’s store at Rocks Green will go before Shropshire Council’s planning committee on Tuesday, and planning officers have recommended they are approved.
The chain says up to 150 new jobs could be created when the new supermarket opens is doors in time for next winter.
The proposals also include a petrol station and a new mini roundabout on Duncow Road.
Outline consent for the site was controversially granted in early 2017 after several years of wrangling, and a reserved matters application was submitted this February, days before permission was due to lapse.
The new application, setting out the size and design of the new buildings and the landscaping around them, will be decided by the planning committee next week and work on the site is expected to start later this year if permission is granted.
Scaled back
The size of the proposed store has been scaled back since the outline permission was granted, and is positioned further away from the site boundary.
There will be 169 car parking spaces and electric vehicle charging points.
A report by planning officer Richard Fortune says: “The principle of a food store and filling station on this site has been accepted through the grant of outline permission and cannot be re-visited in the consideration of this reserved matters application.
“The appearance of the proposed food store would be of a contemporary form combining the use of some traditional materials (timber cladding) which would not be out of keeping with this site context.
“The built form proposed for the filling station allows for the retention of views out to the surrounding countryside from Duncow Road and would be seen against the backdrop of built development when viewed from the north and north east.
“The proposed development would not detract from the visual amenities of the area, or from the setting of any designated heritage asset.
“The quantity of on-suite parking proposed and vehicle circulation arrangements within the site are considered adequate for the size of store proposed.
“The residential amenities of nearby residential properties would not be unduly harmed by the proposed site layout and appearance of the buildings.”
