Plans for a new supermarket, care homes and nursery in a Herefordshire town have been dropped following widespread local opposition.
Opulent Property Group of Birmingham applied for outline permission at the start of the year for the scheme on disused land north of the Co-op supermarket off the B4214 Tenbury Road north of Bromyard.
The firm’s senior development manager Rebwar Waladbaigi presented the plans to Bromyard Town Council last July.
But the councillors appear to have been unconvinced, issuing a formal objection over the “loss of industrial land” to the proposed developments – a concern shared by Herefordshire Council’s economic development team.
And on behalf of Bromyard Chamber and neighbouring businesses, Charlotte Martin said the scheme would “remove one of the last available parcels of employment land” in the town, where a lack of suitable industrial space “has already forced companies to seek alternatives outside of Bromyard”.
“A small supermarket with limited parking will not provide a ‘main shop’ experience and could instead put pressure on independent town-centre traders,” she added.
Town councillors also warned the planned new intensive care unit and extra care apartments would “place undue strain on local GP services”.
This claim was backed up by the area’s only GP surgery, which said it lacked “the capacity to provide the care that these extra patients would deserve and need” and that the scheme “would have a hugely detrimental effect on our existing patients”.
But the planned development was not without its supporters. Local resident George O’Neill wrote: “A care home and particularly supermarket will be a fantastic addition to the area, bringing jobs and stop people driving to other towns to do their shopping.”
A formal notice that the proposal had been withdrawn was published on May 15. Applicants do not need to give a reason for doing this.
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