Following the refusal of a previous application, Walsingham Planning was approached to seek permission for a new Shop and Showroom for a company seeking to sell Sheds and other large enclosures from a rural location in Cheshire.
Based on the scale of the products, and the business model requiring customers being able to see and experience the product range before purchase, it was essential that a large site was provided, as well as a rural location to suit the applicant’s core customer base.
In planning terms, these operational requirements caused concern to the Council, who sought for retail uses to be directed to established centres and questioned the sustainability of the site in question.
Our task, therefore, was to explain and articulate, in planning terms, why the business had to be sited where it was proposed and demonstrate why no town centre locations existed in any regard that would be suitable, available or viable for the business to operate from.
Accordingly, we set about reviewing a large catchment area and assessing 20 surrounding designated retail locations to demonstrate the absence of any alternative trading locations.
At Planning Committee, we were able to further articulate the site-specific requirements of the applicant and explain the benefits the proposed use would bring to the surrounding area, which could not be realised from a ‘town centre’ location. Members accepted our arguments, and planning permission was thus granted.