Greenacre Garage Planning Application for Change of Use

Several residents raised concerns about planning application 21/0348/FUL. This application deals with the change of use of Greenacre Garage, Church Street. It is proposed to expand the retail element by closing the maintenance workshop and to provide a launderette, car wash and flat. The petrol station will be kept. The concerns can be summarised as: proposed opening hours too long; additional noise in a residential area because of the longer hours and the external car wash; loss of privacy because of the residential element. There was also an issue raised about the impact on other local businesses.

The PC did not object to the change of use but felt that the application was incorrect in saying that the site was not contaminated. It also felt that the class of retail use being sought was incorrect. Although a technical planning matter, this is important as the classification determines the nature of the business undertaken.

The PC also felt that if a car wash was being proposed the applicant needed to make clear how drainage was to be comprehensively addressed. Overall, the PC felt that the application would lead to an over intensification of the site, and that parking for all the different uses would be a problem. It also agreed the proposed opening hours were too long and should be comparable to the Co-op on Bye Pass Road. If the application was approved delivery times should be within normal working hours so as to reduce the impact on near neighbours. The impact of this proposal on other businesses is not an issue that can be addressed as part of the planning process so will not form part of the PCs official response.

The PC encourages all residents to make their views on this application and any others. The CWaC Planning website is easy to use and resident views are always read before decisions are taken.

Ed: It is understood that although it will be some time before the planning application will be considered by CW&C, any views by residents need to be submitted by the 7th October. If this is correct, it is now a very tight deadline, but could be worth a special effort if aspects of the application could materially impinge of some local residents. The CW&C website is currently displaying the following message "We currently have ongoing performance issues with the planning website. We have been working with our IT and external supplier to resolve this. Unfortunately the issues have not been resolved." If any residents have strong views about this development it may, therefore, also be worth requesting an extension to the submission date to allow more time for residents to respond.