Asda expansion bid is shelved by council planners (From Warrington Guardian)

Asda expansion bid is shelved by council planners

ASDA was forced back to the drawing board last week when borough council officers threw out its development plans.

The Westbrook store wanted to extend its shop, redesign the car park and reduce its three entrances to two.

Last week, council officers rejected the plans on three counts. They are:

l The scale and type of the proposed extension would not be appropriate to the Westbrook District Centre nor consistent with the nature and function of Westbrook District Centre.

l The proposal contains insufficient information to conclude that the development would be acceptable in terms of impact on traffic.

l Health and safety issues, as the proposed development would be in the vicinity of the Trans Pennine Ethylene pipeline.

Asda bosses say the decision came as a shock.

Spokesman Jeremy Fieldsend said: "The decision to terminate our application using delegated powers has come as a complete shock, it's out of the blue. I would have expected plans to have gone to the planning committee.

"The council has always known the pipeline was there so they could have told us there was a problem with it on day one.

"There has been extensive consultation and I know a lot of people were looking forward to the development.

"It would have created 150 new jobs apart from the construction jobs, improved the shopping experience and made the car park and entrance safer. At the moment we are considering our options but are very disappointed and I think a lot of Westbrook shoppers will be as well."

David Earl, borough and parish councillor for Westbrook, said: "There is always a case for improving facilities for shoppers, but I believe that Asda needs to take a more sensitive approach to its ownership and operation of the Westbrook centre and the effects on the district as a whole before deciding to put forward any further plans."