Plans which a supermarket chain says will 'revitalise' one of its stores have been approved by a Nottinghamshire council. The Morrisons on Victoria Park Way, Netherfield will see a new addition after Gedling Borough Council gave planning permission for a project in the shop's carpark on November 3.
The supermarket will now "extend the existing retail offer" with new IN’n’OUT Autocentre and XpressCentre pods, which will be located within the existing car park. Morrisons said Xpress Centres would offer a service "which is highly valued by Morrisons customers and firmly aligns with their plan to bring more and more popular and useful services to the communities that they serve.
Xpress Centres offer minor vehicle body repairs to vehicles which have no structural damage and do not require to be taken off the road into a traditional body shop. The centre's pods will be positioned on existing parkways which will reduce the total parking numbers by 49 standard car parking bays.
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Planners said there would be no disruption to the normal operation of Morrisons. They added that careful consideration had been put into the positioning of the pods to ensure there would be no disruption to vehicular and pedestrian movement.
In a planning document, Whittam Cox Architects on behalf of Morrison's, said: "The scheme seeks to revitalise the existing Morrisons car park by offering more choice to customers and generating new employment opportunities through the provision of IN’n’OUT Autocentre and Xpress Centrepods. Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc hope that the advantages of this proposal as well as the overall benefits to the local community will be supported."
The council said the pods would generate a level of noise and disturbance but would not be unduly harmful to the surrounding buildings. They also said a small level of traffic would be created, but concluded this slight increase and the loss of parking space would not be harmful to the area.
In a planning report on the decision, a planning officer said: "In the opinion of the Borough Council the proposed development is acceptable in principle, is visually acceptable, results in no significant impact on the amenity of neighbouring residential properties and would not have any adverse impacts on highway safety or in terms of flood risk or contamination."
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