Councillors have approved a Portslade garden centre’s expansion plans at a meeting yesterday (Monday 8 November).
Adur District Council’s Planning Committee voted unanimously to grant planning permission for the changes to the Mayberry Garden Centre in Old Shoreham Road.
The business is owned and operated by Tates of Sussex, and Tate Bros Limited submitted plans to expand the garden centre in June.
The company now has permission to enlarge its premises and create a new access which include diverting a public right of way.
The indoor and outdoor retail areas will be bigger, with an extra floor space of more than 2,000 square metres.
Conservative councillor Tania Edwards, who represents Southlands ward, said: “I welcome this application. It’s going to improve the area and extend jobs. There’s a lot of thought that has gone into this.”
The plans would affect the eastern third of the vacant Eastbrook Allotments site which is also subject to a planning application by Tates for a car showroom.
Together, the car showroom, which has also been approved, and the garden centre expansion could bring a capital investment of more than £7 million.
The changes are expected to create about 60 full-time jobs, add more than 3,500 square metres of commercial space, generate more than £400,000 for the local economy and a business rates contribution of more than £130,000.
Conservative councillor Steve Neocleous, who represents Churchill ward, said: “We should be seen to be supporting a successful local business – and the creation of 60 full-time jobs is a big bonus too … (and) the announcement of a footpath should clearly be seen as positive.”
A new warehouse and “goods in” entrance on the southern side would allow the company to rely on fewer deliveries, in larger vehicles, to reduce the number of trips from its Hassocks store.
A new junction is also planned off Old Shoreham Road, with access for the warehouse.
Labour councillor Carol O’Neal, who represents Eastbrook ward, said that this could lead to a great improvement.
She said: “Separating the commercial aspect from the general public is a great improvement because parking on that site is really quite difficult. It’s a bit like a Tardis. You kind of go in and it’s really very restricted.”
Councillor Edwards wanted to know if the expansion would affect opening hours, which she said could affect residents with light and noise pollution in turn.
But council officials said that there was “no indication” that hours could be extended and construction noise was “not considered to be a major issue”.
A noise assessment was included in the planning application and deliveries would be restricted to hours between 8am and 6pm.
A representative of Tate Bros, the applicant, said: “All aspects of the application have been meticulously and diligently considered.
“The highways authority have confirmed their support for the new access arrangements which will remove the need for deliveries to use the same access as the garden centre customers.”
The representative said that the plans were “encouraging business development” on a “vacant area of land” while “acknowledging the restrictive nature of the site”.
Changes to the right of way could mean that it was widened and resurfaced with new lighting installed.
Council officials said that Tate Bros now owned the path but that it would remain protected as a public right of way – and a separate process would now take place to allow the path to be diverted legally.
Spending time in our gardens is so important. For folk who live in flats, you have a blue garden, the sea!