Cumbria - RETAIL (inc. Carlisle) issues and developments

[denm]

This from the News & Star,--


Homebase to close - but new jobs boost announced


CLOSING down signs have been placed outside Carlisle’s Homebase store at Kingstown.

It is understood that conversations are ongoing with the Kingstown Retail Park landlord M&G Real Estate, but staff who work at the store have now entered a consultation period.

It is not yet known when the store will shut.

Read more https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...ost-announced/

[madannie]

An application has gone in to Carlisle Council for a new bar & restaurant on Victoria Viaduct, using two currently empty shops. Good to see someone wanting to make use of premises which are a bit off the main shopping street in Carlisle and which were caught on the wrong side of the road closure when the Central Plaza Hotel started falling down.

Carlisle City Council Application 19/0583

News and Star story about this:

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...ans-submitted/

[madannie]

Originally Posted by madannie

Approved, with conditions, yesterday according to The News & Star, although no decision notice has appeared on the planning portal yet, which is a bit unusual. The major condition is that it can only open from 6am to 11pm, not the 24 hours originally applied for.

Having had a look through the planning portal there seem to have been quite a few changes since the initial application.

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Ne...e43bad4fbb4-ds

Having commented that there was no decision notice on the planning portal when I posted the comment above in July 2018, it now transpires that there was no final decision at the time.

The decision to approve was made yesterday (16th September 2019) via a delegated report. There are far more conditions attached to the approval than is normally the case; I have not had time to read through them all yet!

I suppose that the final approval only now being made explains the lack of activity on site despite what was reported by the local rag in July last year.

Application 17/0619

[madannie]

Originally Posted by madannie

An application has gone in to Carlisle Council for a new bar & restaurant on Victoria Viaduct, using two currently empty shops. Good to see someone wanting to make use of premises which are a bit off the main shopping street in Carlisle and which were caught on the wrong side of the road closure when the Central Plaza Hotel started falling down.

Carlisle City Council Application 19/0583

News and Star story about this:

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...ans-submitted/

A couple of shots of the building in question. A couple of signs for the new venture have gone up already, even though the planning application is still under consideration. The Central Plaza Hotel, cause of so much trouble recently, can just be seen on the right of the first picture.

[denm]

This from the Westmorland Gazette,---


Spar plans new store and petrol station for Grange-over-Sands


CONVENIENCE food, drink and petrol retailer Spar has set its sights on a “pivotal corner” of Grange-over-Sands.

The prime site near the coastal town’s railway station has been home to a charity superstore for four years, and was previously a Toyota car dealership.

Read more https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co...ge-over-sands/

[madannie]

Originally Posted by madannie

An application has gone in to Carlisle Council for a new bar & restaurant on Victoria Viaduct, using two currently empty shops. Good to see someone wanting to make use of premises which are a bit off the main shopping street in Carlisle and which were caught on the wrong side of the road closure when the Central Plaza Hotel started falling down.

Carlisle City Council Application 19/0583

News and Star story about this:

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...ans-submitted/

Approved last week. I guess, with the banners I photographed in late September and seen a couple of posts up, that work will commence very soon here, although the closure of Victoria Viaduct again could well be a problem.

[madannie]

Obviously, with the road being closed for "months" it is a big problem for the owners. I knew they owned the Hell Below bar, but was not aware that they were leaving there in the near future. They are, however, being positive, according to the News & Star:

Central Plaza Hotel fiasco will not ruin us

THREE men who are working on a bar and restaurant complex next to Carlisle’s crumbling Central Plaza Hotel say they will still go ahead with their plans - even though they won’t be able to open next month.

Dan White, Jack Lee and Matty Boak are working to turn the former Carlisle Bed Centre shop on Victoria Viaduct into a new £2m venue called Within the Walls.

Dan and Jack currently run Hell Below on Devonshire Street, a bar they have to leave on November 1.

Full story at https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...l-not-ruin-us/

[madannie]

Back in 2015 Lidl submitted a planning application for a new store on Warwick Road in Carlisle. The site was on the flood plain, and the application was withdrawn following the floods of December 2015 which demonstrated clearly the flooding risk.

A report in the local rag from mid-2016 (and commented on in this thread) suggested Lidl were still looking at the site, but nothing more was heard or seen in the local media.

Until today. A leaflet has dropped through my letterbox this morning telling me that a new application has been submitted for the same site, opposite the junction of Warwick Road and Victoria Road. Apparently it will have 1256 square metres of sales space and 147 car parking spaces and will create up to 40 full and part time jobs.

A public exhibition will be held on Monday 28th October at Botcherby Community Centre, from 3pm to 7pm.

The application has not yet appeared on the planning portal.

[madannie]

And some of the locals are not happy, as is always the case when something like this is proposed.

A long, well balanced report from the News & Star, although the headline is a bit dramatic:

Backlash over Lidl proposals

PLANS to create a new discount supermarket beside one of Carlisle’s most flood-prone roads have been met with a fierce backlash from residents.

German chain Lidl has announced it intends to build its second store in the city - this time on land beside the flood-prone Warwick Road.

The new supermarket would be on land adjacent to Botcherby Community Centre, a site the company have already rejected once following the devastating floods of 2015.

Full story at https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...idl-proposals/

There is still no sign of the planning application on the council website.

[madannie]

Application has finally appeared today, Reference 19/0840, although at present there are no documents associated with it, not even an application form!

[madannie]

This story concerns a development from Scotland, but as it is only just over the border and much of the trade comes from Cumbria I have included it here:

A revamp and renaming of Gretna Gateway Village has been unveiled, according to The News & Star, although reading the article it would appear that the revamp started in April this year!

I also suspect that as it has been known as Gretna Gateway for 20 years it will continue to be known as such by most people for some time. Not quite sure that renaming to something as bland as Caledonina Park is a good idea - the current name does at least tell people where it is!

£7m revamp and new name for Gretna Gateway Outlet Village

BOLD new plans have been unveiled to revamp and rename Gretna Gateway Outlet Village in a multi-million pound investment by its owners.

London-based RPMI Railpen, who own the retail centre, have unveiled a £7million package with the aim of transforming it into Scotland's premier designer village.

Urban Edge Architecture helped to draw up plans to modernise the shopping village, which include installing timber façade treatments to the units, adding canopies and enhancing the public realm.

To coincide with the dramatic transformation, Gretna Gateway will be renamed as Caledonia Park.

Full story at https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...utlet-village/

Gretna Gateway news item from April: https://gretnagateway.com/new-vision-new-village/

[denm]

This from the News & Star,--


Plans for Carlisle's second Lidl store submitted amid backlash


A CONTROVERSIAL planning application to build Carlisle’s second Lidl supermarket has been submitted to the city council.

It follows a public consultation last month surrounding plans to build another store on land adjacent to Botcherby Community Centre, by Warwick Road.

The initial plans prompted a wave of fierce backlash from local residents,

Read more https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...amid-backlash/

[madannie]

The News & Star - last with the news again. The application was submitted on 30th October and validated on 6th November, appearing online on the same day (as mentioned in this thread), a mere 10 days before the local rag reported it.

Understandably there is much local opposition due to the site being on a flood plain, which I would think is likely to scupper this development, but some of the objectors' comments are quite ludicrous.

Far from making traffic congestion worse the new store would probably improve the situation as a new traffic light controlled junction would be added, making access out of Victoria Road in Botcherby easier than it is at present. I also suspect that some opposition is from locals who currently use the land as a dog walking area and don't want to lose it, just as was the case with other recent developments in the area.

[denm]

This from the News & Star,--


Kids clothing firm expands with new store


A BOUTIQUE children’s clothing business is expanding its operation to the high street in Carlisle.

Best Dressed Kidz was founded nine years ago by Greer Blackadder, in Dumfries.

Greer is opening a second store on Carlisle’s English Street tomorrow. Saturday

Read more https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...nds-new-store/

[denm]

This from the News & Star,--


Thorntons chocolate shop in Carlisle city centre to close in the new year


A LONG-SERVING city centre shop is to close early in the new year.

The Thorntons branch, for many years a staple store for Carlisle shoppers to get themselves all manner of luxury chocolate goods, will no longer be trading from January.

The company has stated it is trying to find alternative

employment for those working at the outlet, on St Albans Row.

Read more https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...lose-new-year/

[denm]

This from the News & Star,--


Shopping boost closer as multi-million pound Carlisle retail project clears critical hurdle


COUNCIL leaders are pressing ahead with plans for a new multi-million pound retail development set to create 100 jobs.

The Gateway 44 scheme will be just off Junction 44 of the M6 at Kingstown, Carlisle.

The contract to build a the unit that will be used for development has now been awarded, with a meeting to kickstart the project due to take place today.

Read more https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1...itical-hurdle/