PROPOSALS to open a new Sainsbury’s store in Woolston can go ahead after a council decision to refuse planning permission for the scheme was overturned.
Warrington Borough Council initially threw out the plans to convert the Woolston Car Centre on Manchester Road into a Sainsbury’s Local last summer.
Woolston Car Centre - picture by Google Maps
Woolston Parish Council and a number of residents had objected to the development after concerns were raised over a potential increase in traffic and the store’s proposed opening hours, as well as parking.
The council’s highways department had also opposed the opening of the shop on safety grounds due to servicing, pedestrian access and parking.
And WBC’s development management committee voted to reject the proposals on this basis in July last year.
But now the developer has successfully appealed this decision with the Planning Inspectorate, which found that the scheme ‘would not give rise to significant harm in terms of highway safety’ or ‘result in undue harm to the living conditions of nearby residents’.
This means that the store can now be opened.
It is anticipated that Woolston Car Centre will move to a new expanded site on New Cut Lane as part of the scheme, which will see part of the existing building demolished and rebuilt.
Changes will also be made to the shopfront and car park, with the new store set to open from 7am to 11pm daily – creating 15 full-time equivalent jobs.
