Threat from edge-of-town retail park
Objecting to planning applications is probably not top of your agenda in the run up to Christmas.
However, please take a look at this proposal for a huge new edge-of-town retail park disguised as a Garden Centre and put in your objection as soon as possible.
Some of you will already be aware that ‘Berwick Garden Centre’ have submitted an application to construct a huge ‘Garden Centre and Restaurant’ on the Spott Road, just north of Asda. In actual fact it is much more than this; it is effectively a retail park and would also include a pet shop, gift shop, farmshop, florist, outdoor clothing store and more.
You can look at the application details online here:
(I found that I needed to use Firefox rather than Internet Explorer to be able to download the relevant documents)
Why object?
1. This development would be in direct competition with many existing shops on Dunbar High Street, including all the food shops, the gift shops, the pet shop, the florists, the new outdoor clothing shop and all those shops already selling garden supplies. It would very likely put several shops out of business and the knock-on effect would compromise the viability of all remaining shops. In short, it would be disastrous!
It would also take trade away from Smeaton Garden Centre and Stenhouse Plants in East Linton as well as from Knowes Farm.
2. It would be in contravention of all planning policies on edge of town retail development.
3. It would be in contravention of the Council’s own Local Plan which was only adopted in October 2008 and which allocated this land for future employment use.
4. Its business model is totally dependent on the car. It envisages 96,000 car arrivals per year, with more than 30% of these journeys being from further than a 20minute drive time. This is not a model suitable for a low carbon future!
Please send letters of objection to each of our Councillors and to the Head of Planning, Peter Collins:
Cllr. Paul McLennan, John Muir House, Brewery Park, Haddington EH41 3HA or pmclennan@eastlothian.gov.uk
Cllr. Jacquie Bell, Braeside, 2 High Street, Belhaven, Dunbar, EH42 1NP or jbell@eastlothian.gov.uk
Cllr. Norman Hampshire, Town House, Haddington, EH41 4DA or nhampshire@eastlothian.gov.uk
Head of Planning: Peter Collins, Director of Environment, John Muir House, Brewery Park, Haddington, EH41 3HA or environment@eastlothian.gov.uk
Hi Phillip, I know I’m a little late on this but as far as I can see there is no restaurant in the planning application and the garden centre only plans to sell items such as pet foods, gifts, local foods, etc. Do you have additional inside information? I can’t see any reference to there being actual shops or units?