Appeal will decide future of 'ugly' shopping centre

Plans to turn an "eyesore" shopping centre into a retirement community are to be decided by a planning inspector.

A six-day appeal hearing will begin in Shepton Mallet on Wednesday, after Somerset councillors rejected the plans for Street's Crispin Shopping Centre in July 2024.

Churchill Retirement Living wants to demolish the shopping centre, originally built in 1979, and build a retirement complex in its place, with 45 extra care apartments and 11 retirement cottages.

Somerset Council's Planning Committee East voted against the proposals citing a lack of parking, an unattractive design and possible damage to local heritage assets.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the Hampshire-based developer lodged an appeal against this "extremely disappointing" decision shortly after the committee meeting.

Churchill Retirement Living said the development was "in a sustainable location" and would deliver "tangible benefits" to the local community.

Local resident Emma Harding spoke out against the plans at the council's planning meeting last year.

She said: "I am one of the seven residential neighbours which will be overlooked by the new flats.

"We don't have an issue with the site being developed - we have an issue with what's being put there and how it may be put there. When you have demolition work close to our properties, we're concerned about the damage that will be done to them by vibration."

Councillor Peter Goater, vice-chairman of Street Parish Council, told last year's meeting: "The existing building is an ugly monstrosity which has been taken over by pigeons, rats and antisocial behaviour."

Street Liberal Democrat Somerset Councillor Simon Carswell is in favour of the plans.

"I think it'll be good for Street. It'll provide homes for retired people, and it will get rid of an eyesore which is right in the centre of the High Street," he said.

"So I think that can only be good for the community."

The site is one of nine identified for delivering new housing within the council's revised Mendip Local Plan Part II, which went out to public consultation in 2024.

Under Churchill's proposals, the existing buildings would be replaced with a three-storey, L-shaped block of apartments, with two blocks of cottages on the northern and eastern sides.

The council previously voted unanimously to refuse the plans on eight grounds including "over-development", "insufficient information" on how existing trees within the site can be adequately protected and not including adequate space for waste vehicles.

A Churchill Retirement Living spokesman said: "The site is in a highly accessible location, making it suitable for older people.

"The appeal proposal will assist in releasing and freeing up under-occupied houses elsewhere in the county back into the housing market.

Churchill currently operates the Riverain Lodge care facility in Taunton town centre, and secured planning permission in early-April 2024 to deliver a similar development on the former police station site in Wells.

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