Commercial Estates Projects (CEP) has appealed over the refusal of planning permission for its proposed development on Scotforth Road, on land south of the Lawson’s Bridge site. The Appeal by CEP is scheduled to begin 22nd November 2011.
Further information is available via the Planning Inspectorate website (www.planningportal.gov.uk) appeal reference APP/A2335/A/11/2155529/NWF, or Lancaster City Council website (www.lancaster.gov.uk) reference 11/00022/REF.
The statements of Lancaster City Council and CEP are available given in the attachments below (please click on the links).
CEP appeal LCC statement CEP appeal CEP statement
A full list of documents is now available from this page Planning Appeal
The Society sent the following statement to the Planning Inspectorate on 26th August 2011.
Lancaster Civic Society wishes to express its strong support for the decision of Lancaster City Council’s Planning Committee to refuse the outline application by CEP Estates for a large supermarket, petrol filling station and hotel/pub/restaurant on Scotforth Road on land to the south of Lawson’s Bridge.
Our concerns about this proposal are as follows:
1. The application is in outline only so the full impact on the area, a key gateway into the city, cannot be fully assessed.
2. It is a very large development and one which would be highly visible on the southern approach to the city. The frontage would be adjacent to the A6 for some 430 metres. For this reason any development needs to be of the highest standard and appropriate to the area. This is more likely to be achieved with a full, as opposed to an outline application.
3. The proposal would duplicate facilities which already exist in the area.
4. The proposal would involve the loss of mature trees and open countryside.
5. Such a large development would add to the traffic congestion which already exists on this stretch of the A6, especially at peak commuter times.
6. Such intensive development of the site could constrain other future developments (e.g. housing and employment) in the area.
The Society sent the following statement to Lancaster City Council’s Planning Committee meeting in May 2011 when the CEP application and one from Booths for a replacement store were heard.
The Booths application for a replacement supermarket (3230 square metres), plus an outline proposal from CEP for a large supermarket ( 7250 square metres) plus filling station and pub/restaurant/hotel on the fields to the south of Lawson’s Bridge at Scotforth are to be considered at the City Council’s Planning and Highways Regulatory Committee on Tuesday 3rd May 2011. The Officer recommendation is to approve the Booths proposal and refuse the CEP application. In advance of the meeting the Society sent the following statement to the Planning and Highways Regulatory Committee.
Lancaster Civic Society strongly supports the Officer recommendations for these two applications, i.e. the approval of the Booths development (10/00251/FUL) and the refusal of the CEP application (10/00366/OUT).
The Booths application is a full application for a replacement store. The new building has been designed to fit sensitively into its surroundings. Booths will expand its current provision but there will be retail choice and competition if, as proposed, its existing store is offered to another supermarket. Booths has a regional sourcing policy and, as a local firm, profits are ploughed back into Lancashire.
The CEP application is in outline only, so the full impact on the area cannot be properly assessed and there is no indication of the companies who would enter the area. However, it is an intensive proposal – a very large supermarket, a filling station and hotel/pub/restaurant – all of which would be additional to services already operating in south Lancaster. It would seem to be over-development of an important and sensitive site at the southern entrance to the City.
If both applications were approved, there would be over-provision of food retailing in south Lancaster and the potential for traffic conflicts in the area. With an expanded Booths and another food retailer on the Hala site the balance would seem about right.
Update 3rd May 2011
At the Council’s Planning meeting on Tuesday 3rd May the Booths application was approved, though it will need to be referred to the Secretary of State and the CEP application was refused.
park and ride needed that end of lancaster
pensioners use booths not the young hala has low income people and with the university it should b granted a mcdonalds or burger king would help
I agree with all the comments above and think that, when we are supplied with so many large supermarkets in and around Lancaster and Morecambe, another one, especially as large as the one proposed by the Commercial Estates Projects, is totally unnecessary.