Proposals for a retail park including Aldi, Burger King, Greggs and Starbucks will be considered by a council's planning committee next week. 

An application concerning the reserved matters of the Northallerton 'neighbourhood centre', as it has been dubbed, will be considered by the Richmond (Area) planning committee next Thursday (September 12). 

Under the plans, councillors will look at the access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the retail park, which will be on Darlington Road in Northallerton and connected to a housing estate from Taylor Wimpey. 

A mock-up of how the site could look once builtA mock-up of how the site could look once built (Image: ESHTON)

The application, from Eshton Developments Ltd and Aldi, comes after a full planning application for 298 houses on Darlington Road and Stokesley Road, and an outline application for 900 houses was granted back in 2016. 

According to the applicants Eshton Developments, the shops will invest £8 million in the local economy, create around 110 full and part-time jobs, and generate around £200,000 in business rates for North Yorkshire Council. 

Here are the full proposals:

  • Aldi food store
  • Burger King restaurant with drive-thru lane
  • Starbucks coffee shop with drive-thru lane
  • Sandwich shop to be operated by Greggs
  • Associated parking for the proposals

Alongside this, 166 car parking spaces including 13 accessible parking spaces, nine parent & child spaces, motorcycle bays and dedicated cycle racks, as well as four electric vehicle charging points will be added to the site. 

A spokesperson for Aldi said: "The proposed location is a ‘gateway site’ to the area and the design, layout and landscaping have been carefully planned - we’ve taken great care to ensure the site leaves a positive first impression.

"The centre has been strategically positioned away from the existing roundabout, to create as much public open space as possible.

"In total, it is expected that up to 110 new full and part-time jobs would become available for local people - 40 of these jobs at the new Aldi food store alone.

"We’re very excited to be consulting on our plans for a new local centre in North Northallerton. The proposals would bring much-needed new food shopping together with food and drink facilities to the north of Northallerton, to support the significant amount of new housing in the area.

The indicated space that the development could goThe indicated space that the development could go (Image: PLANNING)

"We’re looking forward to hearing from as many residents as possible through our virtual consultation and encourage everyone to get involved."

During the application process, two consultations were carried out on the proposals, which included 37 public objections and 48 letters of support. 

Within the objections, Sainsbury's, who have a store on High Street in Northallerton, objected on the grounds of 'no need for another food store', ' the development is inappropriate for the scale' and 'the application fails to satisfy retail planning policy'.

Other objections included the development not being the ‘small community shop and facilities’ previously indicated, the development occupying one of the only green spaces within the North Northallerton area, and people believing the development will be an 'eyesore'. 

In contrast, the 48 support letters indicated that the development will create local jobs, the provision of a supermarket run by a ‘budget retailer’ will reduce the need for Northallerton residents to travel further afield opportunities, and the belief that 'the development will promote competition between retailers'.

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Despite the objections, it's indicated that the application will be approved by the Richmond (Area) planning committee next Thursday, with a document released before the meeting saying that the proposals are 'recommended for approval'.

In the document, the committee report states: "Having sought independent advice on these matters, officers are satisfied that the development passes the Sequential Test and that the retail impact considerations are acceptable and are by national and Local Plan policy.

"The proposals (subject to conditions) are also considered acceptable in terms of layout, scale design/appearance, amenity considerations (including noise and odour), landscaping, and access, connectivity and highway safety, and is by the relevant national and Local Plan policy considerations in these regards."