Plans for a new Lidl store, drive-though coffee shop, and three other retail units at Parc Trostre in Llanelli have been turned down. The Lidl and Tim Horton's coffee shop, along with 148 parking spaces, were proposed on 1.8 hectares of land on the edge of the retail park.
Applicant Arbenigol Ltd said the proposed development, which was altered following discussions with Carmarthenshire Council's planning department, would create 90 to 100 jobs. Some of the land in question has the former Ty’r Nant council building on it.
A design and access statement submitted as part of the application said there was a need for an additional discount food store in Llanelli and that no preferable alternative sites had been identified. Referring to the expected job creation it said: "This comprises a material consideration in the determination of the application."
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Consultations took place with environment body Natural Resources Wales (NRW) but they said in December 2022 they continued to have concerns about "inadequate information" relating to flood risk and water voles. Meanwhile the council's highways department said it was concerned about the likely need for the authority to enter into an agreement with the developer to build an access to the site should planning permission be granted. It was worried about maintaining access to Parc Trostre during construction and the impact on the nearby Tesco petrol station. The proposed access, said highways officers, and the approach from Tesco in particular "would be a potential source of increased danger" to drivers.
Planning officers turned the application down on access and three other grounds, which included inadequate flood risk assessment. Officers also said that, notwithstanding the new jobs, there was no demonstrable need for the food store and it would have a detrimental impact upon retail activity in Llanelli town centre.
Meanwhile the plans for the three retail units were for land adjacent to Topps Tiles and occupied by the former Texaco petrol station at Parc Trostre. A planning and retail statement submitted as part of the application by DF & AM Bevan & Co Ltd said they had already been pre-let to food businesses, including a chip shop.
The planned units were expected to create nine full- and part-time jobs with opening hours from 7am to 9pm seven days a week. Customers were to use the existing car park. The retail statement said empty shops in the town centre were considered to be too small and that the development's viability was based upon the three units being one block.
NRW expressed concerns about inadequate flood risk assessment, which was one of the grounds for refusal by council planning officers. The council also said the application had failed to demonstrate that the units could not not be split up and accommodated in separate sites and that the number of existing parking spaces was insufficient. Furthermore, it said, no cycle or motorcycle spaces were proposed. DF & AM Bevan & Co Ltd and Arbenigol Ltd can appeal the refusal decisions.
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