New Forest District Council: Pure Town Planning have recently secured planning permission for the comprehensive redevelopment of a former petrol station site in Milford-on-Sea.
Working in collaboration with UAN Architecture, we prepared, submitted and managed a planning application for the proposed development, which sought permission for alterations to the existing garage building to facilitate a change of use to form a convenience store, whilst retaining the existing first floor flats.
The approved store will be occupied by a Tesco Express, which will improve the availability of convenience goods to the local community and seasonal visitors. This will reduce the need for residents to travel to larger supermarkets further afield. This will improve social well-being for residents, particularly those without access to a private vehicle.
The site is located within the Milford-on-Sea Conservation Area and forms part of the setting of a number of listed buildings. In addition, it is located on a corner junction, which serves an adjacent industrial estate. For these reasons, we undertook extensive pre-app discussions with the LPA, which informed our submission strategy for the full application.
The proposal reuses the existing building and see its fully refurbished over two floors, including the removal of the unsightly and dilapidated petrol station canopy. In addition, the existing forecourt will be carefully upgraded to improve the overall appearance of the site from the road, including the installation of boundary walls.
In our supporting planning and heritage statement, we argued that these works would result in significant improvements to the character and appearance of the area, to the benefit of the character of the Conservation Area and the setting of the nearby listed buildings.
Unsurprisingly, the scheme was opposed by the Town Council due to pressure from existing local businesses in Milford-on-Sea who argued that there was ‘no need’ for a new convenience store in Milford-on-Sea. This position was rebuffed by Chris who referred the Planning Officer to the applicant’s sequential test, which demonstrated that there no other sequentially preferable locations for the new store in this area. In addition, the applicant commissioned a detailed retail impact assessment which demonstrated that there was surplus capacity within Milford-on-Sea to support a new convenience store that would continue to grow with planned development, including a nearby approved urban extension for 170 homes.
Upon consideration of these assessments, the Planning Officer confirmed that they were supportive of a new convenience store in this location noting in their report that “To conclude on the principle of the proposed use, it is considered that the submission has adequately demonstrated that there is little or no interest in continuing a traditional employment use at the site, that there is sufficient capacity within the village to accommodate another convenience store without significantly harming the vitality and viability of the existing shopping frontage and that it would serve the local population. As such, the proposal is considered to comply with the Local Plan.”
In addition to design considerations, the design team undertook extensive discussions with Local Highway Authority to agree the parking and delivery arrangements for HGVs and customers. This element of the planning application was supported by transport consultants ADL Traffic who ensured that the proposed development preserved highway safety.
The application was referred to the Council’s Planning Committee for determination and Chris attended the event and spoke in favour of the proposals. In his deputation, he reminded Members that planning system exists to manage the use of land in the public interest, not to protect individual businesses. For these reasons, the increased competition between retailers that would occur from the proposal was not a planning matter open for debate.
The Members were very supportive of the proposals and several commented upon the importance of providing additional services and facilities for growing settlements. Positive comments were also received regarding the design approach and the effective use of brownfield land. The Members agreed with the recommendation of their Officers and swiftly moved to grant planning permission for the development. The client was delighted with the decision and is now preparing for the redevelopment of the site.
If you have a commercial premises and would like to pursue a change of use application, or any other commercially-related planning application for that matter such as; increasing opening hours, new shopfronts, new signage, canopies etc. then why not call Pure Town Planning or email info@puretownplanning.co.uk to see how we can help you.