| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Waitrose planning to expand store BUT wants to remove Lacy Rd entrance! | |
| Posted by: | John Horrocks | |
| Date/Time: | 02/03/11 21:34:00 |
| In response to this planning application, as the Putney Society's Buildings Panel Convener, I have written to the Borough Planner as follows: The proposal to incorporate the existing accessway from Lacy Road into the Exchange shopping centre into the adjoining Waitrose supermarket would be to the detriment of local residents living to the north and west of the shopping centre. They would lose a convenient 'short-cut' into the centre making their shopping trips to the centre less attractive. It would be a 'loss of amenity' to them. This loss, we believe, would be greater than the gain from a, marginally, enlarged supermarket. We are also concerned that the use of the two existing shop units on Lacy Road as part of an extended supermarket might mean the loss of the shop-front window displays on the Lacy Road frontage. This would be unfortunate - it would create a length of dead frontage. If permission is given for the amalgamation of these shop units into an enlarged supermarket, then there should be a condition on the planning permission to require the maintenance of a window display in the two shop's frontages. This was the arrangement when the two shops adjoining, to the east, were incorporated into the supermarket some years ago. Previously, the council has been keen to protect the small shop units in Lacy Road since they add to the variety of the retail offer in the town centre and provide a lower-rental opportunity for retailers, off the High Street. Variety and choice in the town centre enhances its attraction. The shop units on Lacy Road have featured, over the years, on the glossy brochures the council has produced promoting the attractions of Putney town centre. Secondary shopping frontages are important in a lively town centre. This application needs to be determined by the council's Planning Applications Committee - not by a delegated officer decision. I understand that this application will be on the agenda at the meeting of the council's Planning Applications Committee on Thursday 17 March. |