Planners recommend refusal of out-of-town Sainsbury's store at Ulverston (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Planners recommend refusal of out-of-town Sainsbury's store at Ulverston

8:00am Thursday 3rd January 2013 in News By Daniel Orr, Reporter

PLANNING experts have recommended that proposals for a major new out-of-town supermarket in Ulverston should be rejected.

Sainsbury’s wants to demolish existing buildings in Lightburn Road and build a 38,890 sq ft store, car park, filling station, kiosk and car wash.

Cumbria County Council’s development control and regulation committee is set to discuss the plan at today’s meeting in Kendal.

The council is a statutory consultee on the application, which was made to South Lakeland District Council last year and Paul Feehily, the council’s assistant director for planning and sustainability, says councillors should register their disapproval.

He believes another plan for a similarly-sized supermarket at the former Robinson’s brewery site in the main shopping area of Ulverston is the way forward.

Mr Feehily also recommended that SLDC should carry out an independent assessment of the likely retail impacts of the proposed Sainsbury’s foodstore development.

SLDC itself noted in a report last year that the Sainsbury’s application site was on greenfield land with poor visual links to the town centre.

It said the site could potentially accommodate a food superstore but previously developed sites should be favoured.

Keep Ulverston Special has been encouraging people to oppose the development by urging them to write to SLDC and ‘say no to supermarkets’.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “The store would improve choice and quality for local residents and help keep more shoppers in the town.

“Research has shown Ulverston residents are using other towns, such as Barrow, to do their food shopping.”