A SECOND application for a supermarket to be built in Barnoldswick is set to be submitted to Pendle Council.
Developer Pendle Projects has announced its intentions for the former Gas Works Yard off Skipton Road, close to the L&P Springs site chosen by developers for a Tesco superstore.
The managing director of Pendle Projects, Mark Taylforth, said the store would be designed to increase choice in the town while complementing existing shops and services. The new store would also “create up to 30 new full-time job opportunities for local people”.
The plans are set to be submitted in the next few weeks, with the developers hoping that it can be considered alongside the Tesco application. No supermarket chain has been officially attached to the plans yet but Mr Taylforth said three different companies had expressed an interest.
At 9,000 sq. ft. the new proposed store would be less than half the size of the Tesco superstore and would have a 70 space car park.
Mr Taylforth said: “It is in a conservation area so we are working out the elevations and what the best design would be for the exterior of the building. We know that there is only room for one supermarket here so it is a big decision for the council.
“This store would not have an adverse impact on the town centre and would be more in keeping with it. there would be very limited lines of non food products, so wouldn’t compete with existing shops in the town centre.”
A spokesman for the developer said: “We believe the proposed Tesco is far too big for the town and will have an adverse impact on the shops in the town centre and this also seems to be the general feeling among local people. We have therefore designed this much smaller store which we think will complement rather than compete with the offer from existing traders. Pendle believes that this proposed store, of an appropriate scale for the town, will to help claw back trade currently lost to the town, but in a way that complements what Barnoldswick already has to offer.”
The Gas Works Yard site is currently occupied by a mix of various buildings, businesses and vacant space. Pendle Projects intends to work with the existing businesses to secure their successful relocation elsewhere.
The spokesman added: “Increased shopping choice in Barnoldswick is vital in helping it to compete with other towns in the long-term.
“This would encourage local shoppers to stay local, with more money circulating in the area and ‘spin-off’ benefits for existing shops and services. It is crucial though that the size of any new store is appropriate to Barnoldswick, and complements rather than conflicts with what the town already has to offer.
“A thriving community can only be such with the right mix of attractions, in the right location and of the right scale. We will soon be consulting with local people to seek the views of the wider community. Learning the views of local residents is the most effective way of ensuring that any new development will deliver the benefits that the community wants and needs.”
Pendle Council’s development manager Kieran Howarth said there was no regulation that said the council would have to consider two supermarket plans together but that, if a further application was submitted, the council would take a view on the best way to make a decision.
Barnoldswick Town Council pledged to hold a consultation with residents and traders to garner their views if and when a plan is submitted. The Tesco application has divided opinion in the town, with groups campaigning both for and against it.
Last month, traders in the town centre blacked out their windows in protest at the plans, but hundreds of residents have also said they would like to benefit from cheaper supermarket shopping in the town.