ALDI Stores Limited has gone to appeal over East Hampshire District Council's refusal to grant permission for the construction of a foodstore and 16 affordable housing apartments on land at Lower Turk Street, Alton. The proposals would require the demolition of Minnesota's nightclub , opposite Coors Brewery, and the uprooting of allotments. A proposal by McCarthy and Stone to build 37 sheltered apartments for the elderly on the remainder of the site was also turned down by East Hampshire planners but that application is not currently subject to an appeal. In refusing all three applications, East Hampshire planners were of the opinion that the proposals had failed as a package to provide a cohesive design or address the need for a comprehensive solution to the development of the site. The result was "a poor layout and design" which, in the opinion of the planning authority, "failed to address the needs of this prominent edge-of-town centre site." From the point of view of the foodstore, planners objected to the absence of a retail impact assessment and that insufficient information had been submitted to justify the loss of the nightclub. There was concern too over the level of nuisance which may arise from delivery vehicles, recycling facilities and store opening hours and over the impact of any contamination on the site having regard to its previous uses. The development had sparked general concern that the roads leading to and from the site would be inadequate to accommodate additional traffic generated by the development. And inadequate visibility splays had been proposed at the junction of the access with Lower Turk Street which, it was feared, would cause danger and inconvenience to users of the adjoining highway. Planners considered that there was inadequate provision for the parking and manoeuvring of vehicles clear of the highway and that the site could not accommodate adequate facilities to enable goods vehicles to turn within it. It was felt that the development could not be reconciled with national planning policy in that it failed to make the best possible use of opportunities to reduce reliance on the private car. The failure to utilise alternative means of transport would, it was felt, result in an unacceptable increase in the number and length of car journeys to the detriment of the environment and the locality. Furthermore, no provision had been made to replace or make alternative provision for the former allotments on the site; there would be an unacceptable loss of trees and no provision had been made for open space. The development as a whole failed to provide an adequate level of affordable housing for the site and it did not include sufficient energy efficient measures. To be determined by written representation, Aldi Stores has lodged two appeals - one for the foodstore, the other for the 16 apartments. Anyone wishing to register their comments should do so by writing to The Planning Inspectorate at 3/ 15 Hawk Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN, quoting reference APP/M1710/A/08/2067708/NWF for the foodstore or APP/M1710/A/08/2067707/NWF for the apartments. Letters should arrive no later than May 28.
