Marks & Spencer coming to Aberystwyth
Ceredigion Council today played what it hopes will be a trump card in the debate over plans for Mill Street car park in Aberystwyth when it announced that Marks & Spencer is likely to be the second major store to come to the site.
The Council's statement, released late today, says,
"The Council’s preferred developer on Mill Street car park [Chelverton] has negotiated and agreed terms for Marks and Spencer (M&S) to be included in this development opportunity, alongside Tesco. The proposed M&S store will be a full format 54,000 sq ft (gross) variety store comprising 8,000 sq ft net sales convenience (food) and 29,000 sq ft net sales comparison goods (clothing, household goods etc). This agreement has today been approved by the Board of M&S."
Marks and Spencer is intended to go on the land currently occupied by the Park Avenue Day Centre. The Council's original intention, now superceded, had been to place three smaller un-named shops there and this has been the subject of a vigorous local campaign to keep the well-regarded Day Centre on the site.
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Some people would regard this as a very cynical move on the part of CCC to release this information late on a Thursday close to the Christmas break.
ReplyDeleteNothing on CCC website about this yet. Alun - What we we do without your blog to keep us informed ?
ReplyDeleteHow many stories do they have to build to get this floor area in the space earmarked for three retail units to the front of the foodstore [ Tesco ]?
A absolutely stunning piece of manipulation. It's well known that many people think Aber 'needs' a M+S store, and, that they would not object to M+S because it's seen as classy, useful etc, whereas Tesco is an evil multi-national which most people hate as it turns places into Tesco Towns. What will all those people wanting M+S do now? Roll over and say "Oh, that's ok, because it's M+S so that Day Care centre can go into a basement and I get to go to M+S"? Of course they will, and CCC know that. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteAberystwyth's Mill Street plans - Ceredigion releases details 14/10/2011
ReplyDelete"Three additional retail units are proposed fronting Park Avenue, with the proposed Tesco store located behind these units. The 3 retail units have a total ground floor area of 14,500 sq ft with the potential to double this floor space with a first floor mezzanine level."
The 29,000 sq ft does not tally with the 54,000 sq ft mentioned above.
Why does it need to tally David? It doesn't say it's on the same footprint as the previous 3 retail units proposal!
ReplyDeleteObjecting for objecting's sake is getting a bit tedious.
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteIt does not have to tally but the Council published the Mill Street plans with a great fanfare a couple of months ago. Now they have been changed. This has been going on for 4 years. Originally the Drill Hall was to stay and the Day Centre was going to be moved into it. The plans published by CCC showed the Drill Hall and Glyndwr Road being demolished. How many more plans are to be published before we reach the final one? Presumably that will be the one put forward for Planning Permission - assuming that permission is given. Keith Evans statement gives the impression that the Council are unlikely to oppose it. As such, I trust that he will not be permitted to vote as he has already declared a bias.
If you are happy with what the Council is proposing and the way they have handled it, then stand up and say so. Please give your name. You might work for Chelverton for all I know.
If anonymous thinks I always make destructive comments then I am prepared to accept the new development so long as :-
ReplyDelete1. It does not exceed 2 stories in height
2. The Developer builds a new Community Centre to include those facilities available in the current Day Centre. I can even suggest a site - the burnt-out Tabernacl on the other side of Mill Street.
3. Ceredigion County Council are not involved in the Planning Decision as they are not unbiased.
4. No person living in Glyndwr Road is put under any form of pressure to sell their home.
Why doesn't CCC use part of the 3 million got for the site to build another centre. Or will it be spent on Super Schools in Llandysul?
ReplyDeletePlease look at the BBC Mid Wales news item for 18 December
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-16221906
An M&S spokesperson
said: "We do have an interest in Aberystwyth but we have nothing to confirm at this moment."
Somebody might be being a little economical with the truth.
Another site of interest is
http://companycheck.co.uk/company/04759935
Chelverton Bristol were nearly £210,000 in the red at the end of the financial year 2009/2010 yet they come out as the preferred bidder for Mill Street in 2011.
Still nothing about this on the Ceredigion County Council website. I have tried the news section and a search for "Marks and Spencer".
ReplyDeleteIt appears that somebody jumped the gun here. I don't think Chelverton released this information. They know M&S won't confirm anything until all the legal aspects are sorted. Still no official confirmation and the last news of any description on CCC website was 16 December.
ReplyDelete