MID Devon District Council officers have recommended that the council’s planning committee approve, with conditions, an application to expand Crediton Garden Centre, when it meets on October 3.

The Broad family, which runs Homeleigh Garden Centre, the family-owned garden centre, at Launceston, acquired the Crediton Garden Centre many months ago and have been running it successfully since taking over from Robert and Gail Constantine.

The family has applied to remodel and modernise the existing garden centre following demolition of existing structures, to include erection of retail areas, cafe, and warehouse, formation of new vehicular access from the A377, provision of parking areas, and landscaping.

Rob Broad told the “Crediton Courier” in May: “As a family we have successfully run Homeleigh at Launceston for 40 years and it was on a visit to the Crediton Garden Centre that we chatted with Robert and Gail, who explained the Garden Centre was for sale.

“We shook a deal to buy it and from there we relatively quickly sorted out the purchase.

“Since then we have been improving the garden centre range, worked on a plan that we thought would be ideal for the area and appointed Steve Adams as manager, as well as retaining all the existing staff.

“We are looking at increasing the range available at the garden centre and making it of a decent size which would attract people from Crediton and further afield, ideally from as far as Tiverton, Exeter and Taunton.

“We want to make it a destination garden centre, where there will be a range of products for sale and a cafe.

“We have been working with Devon Highways to sort out access and planners to see what is possible.

“It was from a customer survey of more than 500 people that 70 per cent said they would like to see a destination garden centre rather than just a plant centre.

“We hope that by expanding we will pull more people to shop in Crediton itself and while we recognise there will be some crossover of products, I think this will be minimal.

“Our plans ensure that new buildings are lower in height than the current polytunnels we have, but saying that, there will be more buildings.

UP TO 80 JOBS

“Currently we employ more than 100 people in Launceston and if approved, we hope that Crediton Garden Centre would employ up to 80 people.

“We will use local suppliers where possible for our plants and food and we want local people to come and work here.

“Crediton is a lovely town and with many new houses being built, Crediton Garden Centre would be a great place for people to come and work.”

The plan includes a new vehicle access onto the A377, parking for up to 214 cars, 10 motorcycles and five light goods vehicles, 3,335 square metres of internal floorspace and 1,086 square metres of restaurant space.

Opening times, if approved, would be 8am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

The existing manager’s accommodation would be retained.

REPRESENTATIONS

At the time of writing 93 letters of representation had been received by MDDC. A total of 33 of these letters were from stakeholders who confirmed their support for the site proposals, with 54 raising an objection and five presenting general comments for consideration.

Summaries of the comments included: Supporting comments

1. The plans look to have been carefully and sympathetically produced and appear to allow customers to enjoy the bucolic view, and improve significantly the existing garden centre.?2. The Garden Centre development will bring dozens of jobs, new customers and tourists and much needed revenue to the town. Crediton deserves investment and to prosper and this development will help it do just that.

3. Having the entrance from A377 is a good idea, and the proposals along Higher Road are an improvement.?4. The site is a brown field location so suitable for expansion, and the merits outweigh the disadvantages.

5. It is believed that the development should increase footfall on the High Street.

OBJECTIONS

Objecting comments:

1. Concern about the visibility proposed for the new access. ?2. The proposals will affect businesses on the High Street in Crediton given the range of goods sold at the other Homeleigh site at Launceston with the loss of jobs arising.

3. Impact on garden centres at Eggesford (currently not trading), Bernaville, Tucker’s in Crediton and Bow. ?4. Not appropriate for a Countryside location – (MDDC says the terms of 2003 planning approval are considered acceptable in terms of development on the site.)?4. Concern as to levels of traffic on road, and how it will affect access to Queen Elizabeth Drive.

5. Unauthorised development already undertaken. ?6. Green transport options are limited / car dominated. Not a very sustainable location ?7. Contrary to development plan as it will not improve economic conditions of the area/impact the High Street. Contrary to DM19 and DM17.

8. Café is too large.

Twenty of the objections were submitted on a standard template letter which raised the following comments:

Negative impact on Crediton, scale is too large, no need for another garden centre in Crediton, increase traffic congestion, no public consultation, adverse impact on amenities of surrounding occupiers, inadequate arrangements for drainage, adverse impact of landscape character and visual amenities of the area.

General comments about the scheme:

• Have an effect on high street business – this comment was from an existing Trader.

• Lighting needs to be low key.?• Proposals to improve pedestrian facilities are most welcome. Need to retain existing landscaping along Higher Road.

• Noise and disturbance arising from music being played on the site.

6. At first I thought that the size of the development was out of proportion for the location, but if major re-building is to happen anyway, it is perhaps best to make a unified and well-designed plan which develops the site once and for all rather than needing further disruption for expansion in five or 10 years’ time. The existing structures are rural for certain, but not attractive or coherently planned, with considerable amounts of wasteland.

General appearance: If the buildings are of broadly agricultural appearance and set down sufficiently low not to be a blot on the landscape (or be obtrusive to the existing dwellings on the north side of Higher Road), that will help.

MDDC said that the main issues in the determination of this application were

1. Policy considerations, retail impact, economic development issues. ?2. Scheme design, impact on the character, appearance and visual amenities of the area. ?3. Transport and movement Issues. ?4. Impact on the living conditions of nearby residential properties (Higher Road). ?5. Other matters. ?6. Planning balance.

In this instance, MDDC officers said it was not considered that an expansion and modernisation of this established garden centre would adversely affect the vitality or viability of Crediton or the surrounding villages subject to imposing a restriction on the amount of floor space that can be used for the sale and display of convenience goods, fashion goods, clothing, footwear and food or drink related products.

In addition, MDDC said that the economic benefits in terms of increased employment in the locality had also been taken into account.

The report said: “The proposal has been considered in terms of its impact on highway safety and whether the design is suitable for this rural location. With conditions relating to landscaping, highway matters, drainage and controls over the future uses of the proposed floor space, the application scheme was considered to comply.”