A DEVELOPER has revealed initial plans for a 30,000 square foot superstore for the Lawnside Road area in Ledbury.

The scheme would lead to the demolition of the swimming pool, community centre, youth club, the fire station and former ambulance station.

Under the proposals, a new joint swimming pool, community centre and youth club complex would be built at the Orchard Lane end of the Recreation Ground, together with an outdoor multi-use games area.

Judging from designs from developer Philip King of PLK Properties, who said he has been in talks with Sainsbury’s, these developments would also cover areas currently occupied by children’s play equipment, a basketball pitch and a soccer pitch – around one quarter to one third of the Recreation Ground in total.

The Recreation Ground is owned by Ledbury Town Council and was created as a war memorial to the fallen of the First World War.

The current skate park would be demolished too, to make way for underground parking to serve the superstore.

A new skate park would then be built, above the car park.

The entrance of the new store would face Bye Street and the area in front of the store could become a public square linking the entrance to the store with Bye Street, Lawnside and High Street.

Deliveries to the superstore would be down Bye Street, under the present proposals, despite local fears the road is too narrow and conjested.

But no formal planning application has been submitted and Mr King said: “These ideas are at a formative stage as I want the council to be fully involved in the process at the earliest possible opportunity.

“I recognise that the town council would be a statutory consultee for any proposals that might come forward.”

Mr King pointed to other towns where supermarkets have been successfully integrated into the town centre such as ASDA in Pershore and Waitrose in Malvern.

He said developing a store in the town centre would enable “customers to combine their shopping supermarket trip with their other shopping in the town centre, whether they live in the town or are coming from further afield”.

* The town was previously split over whether to site a supermarket off the bypass.

A plan for a Tesco superstore was quickly followed by a plan for Sainsbury's and the town became divided over the issue, with two rival pressure groups.

LESS, (Ledbury Supports Sainsbury’s) favoured the idea of a bypass superstore, and another group, LOTS (Ledbury Opposes Out of Town Superstores), was strongly opposed.

Perhaps nowhere was this division more evident than at a town council meeting when eight councillors voted in favour of the Sainsbury application and eight voted against it.

Two councillors abstained.

Faced with stalemate, the mayor of the day, Coun Allen Conway, used his casting vote to recommend refusal of the application.

But the high drama had started well before the vote, when LOTS supporters, with banners, faced LESS supporters across the High Street, also with banners.

Both groups used peaceful if vocal means to get their views across.

But with about 400 people in the street, on a dark and wet winter’s evening, both the tension and police presence was noticeable.

Tesco withdrew its application and Herefordshire Council’s planning committee rejected the the Sainsbury's plan.

Agreements in place to purchase key property

PHILIP King, of PLK Properties, said he already has agreements to buy several key properties in the Lawnside Road area.

These include the former ambulance station; Electric House – the rented base of the electrical goods store Appliance Solutions – and the Workshop, owned by Shane Howells double glazing.

However, the nearby Brewery Inn would have to be left intact, close to the entrance of the superstore, because it is a listed building.

Mr King said: “I have a development agreement with the owners of the ambulance station and the option holders of Electric House and the Workshop.”

The former ambulance station is now privately owned, although it is currently a temporary base for the Ledbury Mobility Centre, which had to move from the Master’s House when renovation work started there.

Mr Howells said: “I have never met Mr King, but we have signed an agreement to sell the workshop and move to a new site in Ledbury if the development goes ahead.”

Mr Howells declined to say whom he had met to sign the agreement.

And Malcolm Roxburgh of the property developer Clarke Roxburgh said he was “not in a position to agree or disagree” that Electric House had been offered to a developer.

But he added: “I have never met Mr King”.

Mr Roxburgh said Electric House was currently owned by two pension schemes with links to Clarke Roxburgh, the property developer.

Fiona Lewis, the owner of Appliance Solutions, said that Mr Roxburgh was her landlord, but said she knew nothing about the possible sale.

“It’s news to me,” she said.

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