Plymouth could have another out-of-town retail park with plans to build Lidl and Home Bargains stores and a large Marston’s pub-come-hotel on an “eyesore” patch of land.
Just months after completion of the £23million Plymouth Gateway retail park, next to the A38 at Marsh Mills, comes a proposal to build all over the former Laira bus depot site.
The land has sat empty since the bus station was knocked down and various plans have been drawn up for it, but none have come to reality.
Now developer Hinton Properties wants to build Plymouth’s eighth Lidl store on the site, a 1,636sq m single-storey building.
It would sit next to a 1,702sq m Home Bargains outlet. The budget retailer has eight stores in the South West but none in Plymouth, the nearest being Saltash.
Under the plan there would also be a 277-space car park, and a three-storey Marston’s pub with a restaurant included and a 44-bedroom lodge, with beer garden, play area and terrace all attached.
There are no Marston’s pubs in Plymouth, but some in Cornwall and four in Torbay.
In the Plymouth and South Devon Joint Local Plan, the former Western National bus depot site was earmarked for a mixed-used development incorporating either a hotel or retail and leisure facilities.
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Now that vision has taken a step forward with the submission of a pre-application set of documents for the 1,58-hectare brownfield site, enclosed by Gdynia Way, Laira Bridge Road and Embankment Lane.
The application submission, penned by DPP Planning, said that following the demolition of the former bus depot, the site has been the subject to a number of planning applications for commercial uses but none resulted in a full application.
It stressed: “None of these schemes have been delivered to-date and the site remains undeveloped and an eyesore.”
It added: "The application proposal seeks the redevelopment of the former bus depot at Laira Bridge Road to accommodate two A1 retail units and an A4 drinking establishment.
"The site is allocated in the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan for a mixed-use scheme on a site which has laid vacant for some 20 years - despite several permissions on the site.
"Whilst the council's aspirations for the site are admirable, these aspirations need to be balanced with the site potentially being left vacant for another 10 years or more, given the potential flooding and contamination issues.
"The scheme the subject of this pre-application would enable the remediation of the site, whilst also providing a significant economic boost to the area - bringing jobs and investment.
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"Significantly, it would also bring an eyesore site back into positive use and the resultant visual amenity benefits."
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To contact William Telford: william.telford@reachplc.com
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