Application for new filling station and store draws objections
Over 100 objections have been lodged in relation to a proposed filling station and convenience store in Ballyclare.
The application was submitted at the start of April for the construction of two retail units and one hot food unit, petrol filling station, bulk fuels and associated access and parking on behalf of Henderson Group Property.
Representing an investment of approximately £5.3 million, the proposal is for the construction of a local centre comprising one main retail unit with a gross floorspace of 723 sqm, of which 442 sqm is net retail floorspace; one retail unit with a gross floorspace of 90 sqm; one hot food unit with a gross floorspace of 90 sqm; a petrol forecourt with three pump islands; two EV charging spaces and an air/water/vacuum facility.
The planning, design and access statement included with the application stated that the store would be a new EUROSPAR, with 46 jobs to be created; 29 full-time and 17 part-time.
The statement added that there would be additional employment and related salaries associated with the other retail and hot food units, while the development would also support a range of local suppliers and the development itself would support construction jobs.
The site, located at the junction of Ballyclare Relief Road and Readers Park, would have a single access/egress onto the link road, while 82 car parking spaces are proposed, including four accessibility and parent & child spaces.
It was submitted that there is an “indisputable quantitative need” for the proposed filling station and associated retail units, driven by a “substantial housing development”.
RESPONSES RECEIVED
However, to date over 100 objections have been lodged to the proposal with a central theme showing concerns over increased traffic at a residential development where children live and play, with others stating there is no need for another filling station and shop within close proximity to other new and existing sites.
Neighbours have been notified and consulted on the application, with dozens of objections received stating that the ‘size and nature of the development seem inappropriate’.
A local MLA has also formally objected to the application, stating he has ‘significant concerns regarding the appropriateness of this development in the proposed location and its likely adverse impacts on the surrounding community and wider area’.
He stated that primary concerns centred on traffic generation and road safety, with the ‘proximity of the site to established residential properties means that the scale and intensity of the proposed development would result in a significant reduction in residential amenity’.
Additionally, concerns regarding the environmental impacts of the proposal as well as flooding and drainage were raised, while the MLA noted ‘strong community opposition’ to the proposal, with ‘residents expressing clear and sustained concerns regarding its scale, location, and anticipated impacts’.
Meanwhile, responses from statutory bodies have also been received, with DfI Roads stating that the access for the proposed local amenity should be “provided of either Jubilee Road or Readers Crescent but that no through road should be formed as this would lead to Rat Run’.”
Within the retail assessment supplied, the applicant stated the proposed local centre would ‘not be detrimental to the trade of existing retail centres, notably Ballyclare Town Centre, and other shops in the catchment’.
They added that the development of a local centre in this area has been a ‘longstanding integral feature of the major urban extension of Ballyclare since its planned conception’; with the positive planning history pertaining to this site ‘further vindication of the need for the proposal, in meeting local shopping requirements of the burgeoning population in this part of Ballyclare’.
