The green light has been given to changes for the new St George’s Retail Park in Newport, which will see McDonald’s and Costa Coffee drive-thrus constructed opposite Asda supermarket.
Plans for St George’s Retail Park have been on the table for years now with Newport Football Club booted out of its once home ground on St George’s Way — after the promise of a new stadium in Whippingham — to make way for the stores.
Originally, Isle of Wight Council approval was given for South Coast Leisure to build the retail park in October 2019, with a number of stipulations attached, but in April last year plans were unveiled for a smaller retail complex.
It would see 2 of the shops removed, shrinking the overall retail floor space, the inclusion of the Costa Coffee drive-thru and a change in the layout of 1 unit.
Planning documents submitted last year said all but 1 store had tenants lined up — including a national chain of garden centres that focus on homeware and DIY, a discount food store and a 24-hour commercial gym.
The revised plans have now been approved by the Isle of Wight Council.
Asda, who would be next door to the new retail park, had objected to the plans in 2019 and again in 2021. The retail giant even went so far as challenging the Isle of Wight Council, by way of judicial review, over its decision to approve the park but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Sports England also initially raised an objection, over the loss of the football pitch, but following sight of the legal agreement, securing its replacement on an alternative site, withdrew its comments.
Through negotiations with South Coast Leisure, the Isle of Wight Council has been able to stipulate that the unit shall not be bought into use until the replacement football ground is available to use.
Groundwork had started at the site of the new football stadium near the Racecourse Roundabout recently, with greenery removed.
Preliminary work was announced in February and it was hoped if issues with the Isle of Wight Council could be resolved, the build of the all-weather pitch and clubhouse would start in May, to be completed in the autumn
What a waste of time and money, oh well this will kill off any local shops then. The death of all high streets on the island is assured once this gets finished.
Oh dear !!! No sign of an additional GP Practice or a couple of Dental ‘drive throughs’ I suppose
Why flood Newport with more retail developments? Don’t get it, especially with the Ryde area now more populous. Weird planning decisions.
Add something more commercial and better something like Nandos, primark no one wants another mcdonalds and costa!!
Even more reasons to not visit Newport. The sprawl of business parks gets bigger and the traffic worse. Better order on line now.
Why do we need a Costa drive through can’t people walk to get a coffee or just buy at Mc Donald’s it’s better coffee
How many more outlets do we need on a small tourist island ,how about a good attraction site to replace what we have lost already
Awful ruination to make the Island just like the mainland, which is no surprise as most here are recently from there with thousands more due when the huge housing projects are built.
Exactly – no “forward thinking” at all.
Why can’t our wonderful counci realise that we don’t want this retail center?
Why another McDonald’s and another Costa and with them being drive throughs it’s going to make the traffic worse. Great thinking by the dim lot that are the IOW Council
This is of course exactly what the Island needs: shut down physical activity and get everyone to drive out of town for their junk food, ensuring the permanent death of Newport as a town.
Someone at County Hall needs sertting fire to.
Just set fire to county hall and be done with it lol.
With the whole ‘educational slant’ being towards healthier living, another crappy McDonald’s and a Costa is just what we need, NOT.
Ridiculous. All bemoan the death of the high street but give the go ahead for developments which do exactly that – kill the high street. Why not put these outlets in the town and provide free parking? Drive thru’s are promoting car journeys and use, totally against the sustainable and carbon reducing statements (Lies more like) from the dullard IWC. Morons.
Couldn’t have said it better, plato. No doubt it’s all about a certain bulging brown envelope.
In this instance I doubt it’s a brown envelope but there will certainly be a monetary incentive for IW Council to push this through. And given the strait-jacket Central Gov is wrapping around safe-seat councils, you can see that they don’t have much option.
Build a doctors there, would make more sense.
No doubt the new plans will include a cycle path, and pedestrian walkway to the drive- thru’s, in line with the council’s current policy to reduce car journeys.
It’s about time that developments of this nature were subject to a public vote, funded by the developer. Yes you can object by creating an account on IWCC website, logging in, finding the planning application, then entering your objection in lengthy terms, but a simple Yes we want it or No we don’t would-be fairer.