A second drive-thru – possibly thought to be Costa Coffee – is planned to sit alongside McDonalds at the brand new St George’s Retail Park in Newport, which will now be smaller in scale with nearly 20% less retail floorspace.
A revised planning application for the retail park on the site of the former Newport Football Club ground at St George’s Way has been submitted by Island-based developers South Coast Leisure.
The proposal seeks approval for a slightly smaller development to that approved in October 2019 with nearly 20% less retail floor space, together with a second drive-thru restaurant.
All but 1 of the retail units have confirmed tenants, although, as with the original application, these are not being named for commercial reasons. However, it is thought that McDonalds will occupy one of the drive-thrus and Wickes will occupy a DIY/garden centre unit. Aldi is also rumoured to be taking on one of the units.
It is estimated that the project will create upwards of 250 jobs – if work ever gets underway.
An updated retail impact assessment by retail specialists Savills has concluded the plan would have no significant adverse impact on Newport town centre or on other towns on the Island.
The plan provides parking for 275 cars and nearly 100 cycles and also includes landscaping features.
Planning agent Paul Airey said:
“While commercial interest in the scheme has remained strong, this new application reduces the amount of speculative floorspace proposed to ensure the scheme is operational from the start. There is significant interest in the remaining unit and we are confident that a confirmed let will be secured at an early stage.
“The scheme will not directly compete with retail uses in the town centre but will provide a valuable and complementary addition to the retail offer in the town as a whole.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, this development will offer the public new retail outlets and very significant new job opportunities as well as ensuring the funding to deliver the already approved new football stadium for Newport FC and the wider community.”
Final nail in the coffin for Newport town centre?
Scandalous if this gets the go ahead while half the shops in Newport lie empty quietly rotting away.
Looks like retail being discreetly moved out of town so that the town can be filled up with coffee shops and flats, there will not be a town centre in Newport just a sprawling mass of bits and pieces that people will have to travel from one to the other probably by car as they will be so far apart. Utter madness if this is allowed to happen.
Free parking. The council has destroyed the town centre with extortionate parking charges, now they allow out of town developments with no cost to park.
I’d have thought it would’ve been better to build affordable housing on this site.
The end of Newport high street. Yet more flats, more cars, more peolpe without jobs, more pollution.
Will this be the final nail in the death of Newport High St.
If it is, then who do we blame?
Yes the council.
How can they say it will have no detrimental effect on local businesses. Where are the customers coming from in that case….. Mars?
The stench of more fried food as you drive into Newport. Unhealthy meals for those to lazy to walk and red and gold wrappers dumped at the roadside all over the downs. What a world we are creating!
The reality is that since hypermarkets started opening in the 80’s with free parking, the individual high street shops like the butcher, baker, fishmonger, stationers etc all HAD to close as all these services were now offered under one roof. I’m surprised that high streets are still pretending they are viable places to trade! Look at how many corner shops of yester year have closed…there were about 100 just in Cowes and Newport. Lifestyles change. People drive cars now. I was in the milk industry in the halcyon days when EVERYBODY got their milk delivered. Sadly no more. But life moves on. Times change