A proposed supermarket and drive-thru Costa Coffee development beside the A16 near Spalding’s McDonald’s roundabout has been recommended for approval after changes were made to the way vehicles would enter and leave the site.
The scheme was first proposed more than a year ago by Commercial Development Projects Ltd. Its original design raised major concerns about the effect of additional traffic on both the A16 and the A151, which the supplied report describes as an existing bottleneck.
Revised access arrangements
Alterations submitted by the applicant in June would create a one-way arrangement for access to the development. Vehicles would enter only from the A16, using a slip road, while traffic leaving the site would exit only onto the A151 and be required to turn left.
The proposed Costa Coffee drive-thru would also have internal space to queue more than 20 cars. The arrangement is intended to help prevent vehicles from backing up onto the surrounding roads, addressing one of the concerns raised about the scheme.
The earlier application had attracted concerns from Lincolnshire County Council’s highways department. However, the planning report says the revised layout and changes “were deemed acceptable”.
Planning recommendation
A report to members of South Holland District Council’s Planning Committee recommends that the application be approved at a meeting identified in the source as “next Wednesday”. The supplied material does not give the calendar date, and the recommendation is not confirmation that the committee has made its final decision.
In its assessment, the report says the proposed development is unlikely to have a significant adverse effect on existing town centres. It concludes that the proposal is acceptable on that basis.
“The proposed development was considered unlikely to result in significant adverse impacts on local town centres. The proposed development is therefore considered acceptable,”
the report says.
The assessment acknowledges that building on an agricultural field would cause some landscape harm. It describes the extent of that harm as minor and “not significantly diverse”.
The report also says the conclusions of its transport assessment differ from the views of objectors, but that there was no “contradictory tangible evidence or assessment”. It adds that an increase in traffic movements does not, by itself, mean that unacceptable harm would be caused.
Jobs, parking and unanswered access concerns
The supermarket operator has not been named. The application describes the store as “mid-scale” and says it could provide 98 full-time jobs if built.
The plans include 185 parking spaces, with provision for electric-vehicle charging spaces. The proposal therefore combines a new food store with the drive-thru coffee outlet and associated vehicle access beside the A16 and A151 junction area.
Pedestrian and cycle access remains a point of objection. Cycle group PEDALS opposed the application, saying there were no safe opportunities for cyclists or pedestrians to reach the proposed businesses.
The supplied source does not provide a construction timetable, a confirmed opening date or the identity of the future supermarket operator. The immediate next step is the Planning Committee’s consideration of the application and officers’ recommendation.