Council leader Mike Jones has blasted his authority’s decision to allow a mini-supermarket in Hoole despite fears it will devastate the existing vibrant shopping centre.
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning committee recently voted, with just three votes in favour and seven abstentions, to approve the controversial application to convert The Elms Medical Centre, Hoole Road, into a convenience store. This backed up the recommendations of the council’s planning team.
But Cllr Mike Jones, who doesn’t sit on planning, said on Chester radio station Dee 106.3 it was ‘not necessarily the best decision’.
Giving his personal view, he told presenter Gavin Matthews: “It causes me a lot of concern about the number of supermarkets we are seeing around because I think some of our small independent businesses do a really great job in providing good service and this is sufficiently away from Faulkner Street that I think it would cause problems in my view.”
Contradicting the view of council planners, Cllr Jones added: “The National Planning Policy Framework tells us they want to see vibrant communities and anything that will be outside those immediate retail communities such as Faulkner Street or the city centre, actually there is a presumption where you would want to not support it and I’m quite surprised at that and I’m surprised at the vote as well.
“Personally if I was on the committee I would have voted against it.”
He added: “What concerns me even more is people don’t like these supermarkets and yet they use them and they don’t give these small businesses the chance.
“Faulkner Street is a really great vibrant street. I go there quite often to pick my lunch up from the Deli-Vert or get some fish and chips from the chippy down there, which is one of the best in Chester.”
Rob Amans, who runs Mr Fruity greengrocers in Faulkner Street, told Dee it was forecast 1,000 customers per week would be lost from the main street.
He said: “I know Hoole has been described as an eco-system and we all rely on one another. If one of the contingents was to disappear then it would have effect on the others.”
When Cllr Jones pointed out decisions were based on policies and law, Rob responded: “In which case why is there a planning committee at all if it’s just going off legislation?”
