Marks & Spencer is looking to vary a condition on its planning permission, which is now nearly 30 years old.
The Newport-based supermarket is seeking permission from the Isle of Wight Council to keep its delivery gate, on Medina Avenue, open at all times during the working day. It says this will help prevent hold-ups on the road as vehicles wait to be let in.
Currently, the planning condition says the gate to the service yard shall be kept closed at all times and only opened when needed. The condition was imposed when the store was built in 1993.
However, the supermarket argues, due to the gates being manually operated, a staff member is required to open them so the vehicles could be kept waiting on the road, impacting traffic flow.
It also says the manual operation of the gates is likely to result in clashing and banging as the metal gates are manoeuvred into place.
A transport statement supporting the change, says the gates would be closed at the end of each day and site management will, where possible, maintain a schedule of deliveries to control activity at the site.
Island Roads has said from a highways perspective it is more beneficial that the gates are open during the working day so no disruption is caused by waiting vehicles. It says it has no objection to the changes.
The application follows complaints from nearby residents who say they are disrupted by the deliveries to the store.
The supermarket giant was looking to change its delivery times on Sundays and Bank Holidays, bringing the time it was allowed to deliver forward by 2 hours, from 10:00 to 08:00. The Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee threw out the application after hearing from nearby residents about the disruption the deliveries caused them.
The committee felt the change of time would adversely affect the quality of residents’ lives if it went ahead.
You can view the latest application, 22/01740/RVC, on the council’s planning register. Comments can be submitted until 4th November.
Why change it as they haven’t decided yet whether it’s going to stay open or be 1 of the 67 larger stores to be closed down
Makes perfect sense to me but won’t to the stupid IOW council they like a traffic holdup
With so many empty shops in Newport. Council should try harder to encourage retailers.
Because if someone did move into one of these shops the NIMBY lot would stop them doing anything to it.
Island Roads say they have no objections to the plans. Who on earth do they think they are – cheeky sods. Concentrate on the jobs you’re supposed to be doing. Keep you nose out. Moving the delivery time from 10am to 8am is a sensible request.
Change the gates so they can be opened remotely then.