By Ryan Sands
PERMISSION for a multimillion-pound extension of a Kilkeel EUROSPAR onto the site of the now demolished Southern Regional College (SRC) campus has been granted.
Last August, Henderson Group Property submitted an application for the Greencastle Street development – a £3.7m investment set to create 27 new jobs – and this was given the go-ahead by council planners on Friday.
The planning report noted that the proposal included ‘an extension to the petrol filling station grounds, with new extension to existing EUROSPAR, along with refurbishment works to existing façade, additional parking, altered vehicular exit point, electric vehicle charging spaces and alterations/extension to existing fuel canopy’.
It also highlighted that the site is ‘located within the boundary of the town centre’ and that ‘a significant portion of the lands have long been established as a petrol filling station’.
‘The remaining portion of the site was previously in education use, and, given the town centre location of the site, there is no objection to the principle of extending the commercial use into these lands,’ the document added.
It also pointed out that the SRC building was ‘a sizeable two-storey structure that extended closer to the road’.
‘This proposal includes extending the footprint of the petrol filling station building to the side, into the lands of the former college site (whereby the college building has since been demolished and site cleared),’ the report read.
‘It is noted planning permission was not required to demolish this building (issues regarding asbestos and any potential damage caused during demolition or construction are beyond the remit of planning).
‘It is also proposed to refurbish and upgrade the façade of the existing building.
‘The proposed extension is located to the side with a very small front projection, whereby the extension will tie-in with that existing, with the flat roof to match that existing and a small pitched section that will be lower than that existing.’
It is considered that ‘the height, size, scale, appearance and finishes of the extension and refurb proposed are in keeping with, and are sympathetic to, the character of the area and will not appear unduly prominent’.
‘This building is set back from the road and will only be readily visible when passing by the site frontage, being screened by existing development to either side, thus any potential impact is limited,’ the document continued.
‘The existing public footpath along the site frontage will be retained with a boundary enclosing the site frontage (existing bollards), with the petrol pumps forecourt/canopy and an area of hardstanding/parking located to the front of the site, together with trolley stand, NI Electricity substation, electric charging points and air/water/vac station elements, which are commonplace in such sites.
‘Boundary fencing and planting is also proposed.’
It added that the extended premises ‘will not have any significant or unacceptable impact on the area of townscape character or character of the area’.
Concluding, the report acknowledged that planners received four objections to the original plans – these were amended over the course of the application process – though stated that it is ‘considered the proposals do not offend any applicable policy and there are no grounds to sustain a refusal’.
A planning statement submitted with the application said that the proposed extension will ‘deliver a modern, high-quality, extension to the EUROSPAR’, and that it represented ‘a demonstration of private sector investment confidence in Kilkeel’.
‘The development represents an important investment of £3.7m by the Henderson Group in this existing business,’ it read.
‘There will be an additional 27 jobs created in the EUROSPAR in both full- and part-time positions, and managerial, supervisory and customer service roles.’
