Sainsbury’s Ulverston supermarket plans submitted
Last updated at 14:41, Sunday, 30 September 2012
SAINSBURY’S has officially submitted an application to build a store in Ulverston – and claimed the majority of people want the supermarket giant in the town.
South Lakeland District Council has received plans for a 20,000 sq ft food store on land known as the Beehive.
The plans include a petrol station and three new employment units on the greenfield site off the A590.
The supermarket would create up to 150 new jobs.
Sainsbury’s say the results of its second round of consultation in Ulverston in August showed “overwhelming” support, claiming 81 per cent of respondents indicated they would like a new Sainsbury’s on the site.
Jo Hawley, Sainsbury’s regional development executive, said: “Almost 1,000 people have taken part in the two rounds of consultation, with a clear majority indicating they are in favour of the plans.’’
Sainsbury’s initially held a three-day consultation event in May.
Public feedback resulted in alterations to the plans, including extra landscaping and the relocation of the store’s service yard so it is further away from the nearby Beehive cottage owners.
Mrs Hawley said: “One message that was clearly fed back to us was the desire for more choice in the town.
“A significant amount of people don’t do their main food shopping in Ulverston, meaning people are leaving the town every week to spend money in places like Barrow.’’
Paul Kingsnorth, a member of the community supermarket campaign group Keep Ulverston Special, said: “When big supermarkets come to small towns they always make claims of this kind.
“But all the evidence is that big, out-of-town stores of this kind do not help town centres – they destroy them.
“We need to remember this company has no interest in this town or its people – they are only interested in their bottom line.
“If we want to genuinely help our local economy, we need more support for our town centre businesses, a decent parking strategy and a proper plan for rejuvenating our market.
“Any new retail space should be in the town itself, and in line with the local plan.
“Sainsbury’s proposed development would go against the local plan, national planning guidelines, and all the recent evidence about our town’s needs.”
Should planning permission be granted, the new store could be open by the end of 2014.
First published at 13:18, Sunday, 30 September 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Beware, I work in London but live in Morecambe.Morecambe has a very simialr attitude i.e. anything which is new , Supermarkets, new buildings etc are to be resisted at all costs. If this type of mentality takes root , Ulverston will become more of a back water than it is now. The town is a nice place and more amenities mean more people visiting, thus more revenue.
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Where's your proof William?.
Posted by Dan on 8 October 2012 at 21:26