Planning Committee on 12 June 2008 decided to grant planning permission to CTP/Sainsburys for a new supermarket and town square in Neston town centre.
For more information and to view the application, please click the link below:
Background
The plans for the redevelopment of Neston town centre were exhibited to the public from Friday 6 July 2007 until Friday 13th July in the Town Hall. Around 1800 local residents and business people visited the exhibition and almost 1200 filled in questionnaires.
In January 2007 the borough council invited four developers and store operators to draw up proposals for a new supermarket and town square. Three qualifying schemes were submitted to the council on 26 March.
On 22 May the council selected the scheme put forward by developers CTP working with Sainsburys as the one that it prefers. CTP/Sainsburys has been selected because it best met the council's legal duty to obtain 'best consideration reasonably obtainable' following a detailed quality and financial evaluation.
The site is the car park area behind the Town Hall bounded by Raby Road, Brook Street and the railway line. To find out more about the reasons behind the proposals and the research carried out, click on the link below:
The public was invited to view the plans and to complete a questionnaire to set out their views on the scheme. This was an opportunity to talk to the developer, Sainsburys and the council about the scheme.
In addition three focus groups of residents and town centre businesses were held, along with meetings of the Neston Market Town Initiative Board, the Neston market traders and the operators of the annual fair. The scheme provides for the continuation of the annual fair in Neston town centre and also provides an enhanced setting for the Friday market and the farmers market to thrive.
The focus groups were run by an independent company called 'facilitatethis' on behalf of the council. The objective was to gather a small sample of residents and businesses and gather some feedback and have a discussion on the scheme. The groups were recruited independently and were made up of around 20 people at each session. The company provided a report to the council, which is included as an appendix in the consultation report below.
Many comments have been made by the Neston public during the pre-application consultation. These responses were collated taken into account at a special meeting of the full Council, held on Thursday 13 September 2007.
To read the report on the consultation, click the link below:
The Development Brief and Studies
The council prepared a detailed brief to guide developers in drawing up their schemes and a copy of this, along with the retail study, can be viewed by clicking on the links below:
The brief highlights the importance of a quality store with a high percentage of food sales, the need to relate well to Neston Conservation Area, the importance of good design and use of materials, the need for adequate car parking and traffic circulation, the need for pedestrian links to the High Street and the need to consider the amenity of nearby householders. The council is also requiring the chosen developer to make a financial contribution of £750,000 towards a package of off site environmental works and improvements to town centre car parking.
Neston car parking strategy
