Commercial Estates loses out to Booths
LONDON-based developer Commercial Estates Group (CEG) has lost out to Booths in its bid to win planning for a large supermarket on the edge of Lancaster.
Councillors in the city yesterday approved Booth’s application for a 30,000 sq ft supermarket on four acres of greenfield land close north of the university. A rival plan by CEG for a 70,000 sq ft retail outlet on an adjacent site was refused.
CEG’s 12-acre scheme also included a 50-bed hotel, a petrol station and a 4,000 sq ft pub and restaurant. The supermarket operator was not named.
In a document prepared ahead of the meeting by planning officers the council said the scheme would have a “prejucicial impact” on the modernisation of the nearby Lancaster University and the potential to develop Lancaster Science Park.
“No overriding case has been proven to demonstrate that the benefits of the scheme justify the adverse impact it would have on the landscape at the entrance to the city, tree loss, and visual amenity in urban design terms,” said the report.
CEG’s application attracted opposition from Booths, two parish councils, several councillors and a residents’ organisation. The council received 45 letters of objection and there were complaints about its impact on the environment and the fact the land should be used for housing.
The Booths plan, which is on land owned by the city council, was backed by two parish councils but attracted criticism from two city councillors who said the company had not “seriously considered” brownfield alternatives. There were also 54 letters to the council complaining about the impact on the town centre, the loss of open land and the potential for traffic congestion.
