I have just objected to the planning application from Sainsbury's to open a new store in Saltaire - my letter to Martyn Burke at the planning office in Bradford is copied below.
Anyone can comment, of course, in several ways:
- Write to Martyn Burke, the Council’s planning officer (post to Planning Office, Bradford Council, 2nd Floor South, Jacob’s Well, Bradford, BD1 5RW)
- Please ensure that you comment individually, as joint comments submitted by several people only count as a single response.
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Dear Martyn,
Objection to Sainsbury’s planning
application 15/00819/FUL
Bingley Road, Saltaire
I am writing to you to object to the planning
application for a new supermarket on Bingley Road in Saltaire.
I am objecting on three grounds: (1) the likelihood
that the new building will add to local noise pollution; (2) the additional
traffic and parking nuisance that will be generated if this proposal goes ahead;
and (3) the adverse impact that this development will have on local businesses
and the economic viability of Saltaire.
I am particularly concerned about the impact of
this development on the amenity of nearby residential homes on Grosvenor Road
and Grosvenor Avenue.
Noise Pollution.
First, deliveries to the store will take place
throughout the store’s operating hours. Deliveries could therefore be arriving
at 7am and leaving at 11pm. Indeed, if Asda’s delivery arrangements in Shipley are
anything to go by, deliveries could be parked near the store earlier than 7am
waiting to unload, with engines running. Delays in unloading, as is inevitable
from time to time, could also result in activity at the site beyond 11pm. All
of this traffic activity will inevitably have an adverse impact on the amenity
of nearby residents.
I am also concerned that the operation of this
facility will result in overnight noise pollution for neighbouring residential
homes. The refrigeration plant will operate for 24 hours a day, unlike the
existing car wash. The Plant Noise report shows that the noise of the external
plant will be quite close to existing night time noise levels “providing it is
well maintained”. However, my experience in other contexts (the impact of
Asda’s external plant in Shipley town centre a few years ago, and the operation
of Shipley Pool prior to its refurbishment) is that nearby residential
properties can be adversely affected by the noise of external plant. It is reasonable
to assume that this equipment will not operate as perfectly as its design
suggests it should and, let’s face it, proper maintenance is not guaranteed.
Much depends as well on the direction of the wind, as this can boost local noise
pollution considerably.
Unsustainable transport and pedestrian safety
I am concerned about the transport implications of
this proposal and, in particular, the impact of frequent vehicle movements
across a well-used pedestrian route. Parking will also be an issue.
There are several planning considerations that need
to be borne in mind in in this context.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) “recognises
the importance of promoting developments which encourage travel by sustainable
transport”, that proposals need “to be balanced in favour of sustainable
transport modes, giving people a real choice about how they travel”, and that “encouragement
should be given to solutions which support reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions and reduce congestion”.
Replacement Unitary Development Policy UDP7 states
the aim of “promoting improved accessibility through enabling the use of public
transport, cycling and walking and reducing the dependency on the private car”.
The West Yorkshire Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3)
2011-2026 commits Bradford Council to “making it easier to access places,
services and amenities by sustainable means” and to “reducing congestion and
supporting greener fuel technologies”.
The applicant acknowledges that the proposed
development will increase the number of cars accessing the site compared to the
current operation of the car wash. According to the data provided, the extra
two-way vehicle movements could be 62 per weekday peak hour and 38 per Saturday
peak hour. This extra traffic add to local congestion: 40-60% of these trips on
weekday peak periods will be newly generated by the store, rising to 55% to 75%
at weekends.[1]
More importantly, the extra traffic will also result
in a significant number of vehicle movements in and out of the site across a
well-used pedestrian route linking Saltaire with the nearby residential streets.
This is also a key route for parents walking their children to the local
primary schools. While waiting to access the queueing traffic on the main road,
these vehicles will be parked directly across the line of pavement. I already receive
regular complaints from residents about cars queueing to access, and exit from,
the car wash; this development will inevitably exacerbate this problem.
These extra traffic movements will start far
earlier in the morning than is currently the case with the existing car wash, and
go on far later into the evening, impeding pedestrian journeys at those times
as well.
Parking is another serious concern. It is
reasonable to assume that a proportion of these vehicles will not, in fact,
park on site in front of the store as the application anticipates, but will use
Grosvenor Road instead - particularly if these drivers already use Grosvenor
Road for their journeys and wish to make a short stop at the store en route.
This will result in additional car engine and door banging disturbance for
nearby residents from 7am to 11pm.
I accept that the highway network will be able to
‘absorb’ these additional vehicles, but Saltaire is already blighted with all-day
traffic congestion and a range of related traffic nuisance issues including
significant rat-running and speeding traffic plus parking problems. These proposals
will make a bad situation worse, and increase high carbon travel and pollution
at a time when the Council is committed to decarbonising our economy. So, yet
again, we are faced with proposals that actively degrade our ability to
decarbonise our lives.
As far as I can tell from the documents available
on the planning portal, the proposed development neither includes any sheltered
cycle stands nor mentions the provision of any electric vehicle charging points.
I
would ask colleagues to bear in mind that Policy TM2 of the Replacement UDP
makes it clear that planning permission will not be granted if proposed
developments “adversely affect existing and proposed transport infrastructure
or services” and that “where proposals have a detrimental impact on the
transport network, planning permission will not be granted”. I would argue that
these additional car journeys will place additional stress on the local road
network and the amenity of residents and non-car users, and I hope that colleagues
will take Policy TM2 into consideration.
Unsustainable economy
My third concern is the negative impact of this new
supermarket on the economic resilience of Saltaire.
The Replacement UDP states that the
Council will “as far as it is possible” encourage the growth of independent
specialty shops in places like Saltaire on the grounds that “a preponderance of
such shops helps to keep a centre vibrant and prosperous and lend charm and
individuality in a way that enhances its character and makes a shopping trip to
that centre different from a trip to any other.” The Replacement UDP goes on to
state that the Council will therefore “seek to support the retention and growth
of independent retailers.”
In my view, the proposal undermines the aims stated
above. For example, the applicants assert that the store will create new jobs,
but do not specify how many of these jobs will be part-time or how many other
jobs will be lost in Saltaire as other shops close or reduce their staffing
levels as a result of the diversion of retail footfall that this new store will
trigger. This application does not offer the quantity or quality of work to
local people that it claims.
New supermarkets reduce footfall at local shops and
this new store will divert trade from existing shops in Saltaire at a time when
many are already struggling in the wake of the economic downturn. We know that
hundreds of thousands of small, locally-owned businesses have been driven out
of the UK retail market in recent decades. Local communities have been
‘hollowed out’ economically and homogenised in terms of the retail offer
available to local residents. The insidious impact of this erosion of local
identity has left us denuded of a sense of pride in our immediate economic
communities and lacking control over our economic futures as a result and this
proposed new supermarket can only exert additional economic pressure on Saltaire’s
remaining independent traders.
Moreover,
the new store’s turnover is far less likely to be ‘recycled’ in Saltaire than
would be the case if this money was being spent by shoppers in locally-owned
stores. Money spent in a locally-owned store is three times more likely to be
spent locally by that retailer than is the case with money spent at chain
stores such as Sainsbury’s.
I hope that you will bear these comments in mind as
you assess this application. I would also request, if officers are minded to
recommend approval, that the application is considered by the area planning
panel of councillors.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Kevin Warnes (Shipley Ward
Councillor)
[1]
I note that these figures are based on the operation of larger food stores; but
the adjusted figures provided by the applicants remain significant and it
is not clear that they are based on robust data from elsewhere.
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