Transport & Traffic

Transport & Traffic

The junction of Church Street and the High Street is well known for its high levels of congestion and a major concern was that a new supermarket would lead to a significant worsening of the situation, with greatly increased car numbers, heavy goods vehicle deliveries and potentially local delivery van operations.

The revisions to the proposal mean that the underground car park has been removed and the number of heavy goods vehicle movements has been slightly reduced due to the smaller food store. There would be one entrance to the site, from Church Street onto Wilmer Place. 

It is claimed that the heavy goods vehicles would be 11m long articulated heavy goods vehicles (at the consultation they assured people that they would be rigid heavy goods vehicles) and that between 6 and 7 delivery HGVs per day would be required to supply the supermarket. At the original public consultation it was also suggested that there would be additional daily deliveries of certain goods that would not be delivered by truck. 

The delivery times are currently unknown but the route which the lorries would take down Church Street to approach the site would be from the west end, exiting via the east end via the heavily congested junction of Church Street and the High Street. 

In order to accommodate these vehicles in the narrow Wilmer Place, the pavement would have to be removed. This route is currently well used by pedestrians coming from the High Street to Church Street as well as by local residents living on Wilmer Place who have serious concerns over pedestrian safety. 

While the building works are underway (which can be expected to take more than a year), the existing car parks will not be accessible for use by shoppers and this is a source of concern for local businesses. 

The 2009 planning application for the same site, which was rejected by the council on conservation grounds, included the removal of the existing car park.