CONTROVERSIAL plans for a farm shop in the grounds of a prison will come before planning chiefs at Warrington for a second time next week.
The scheme – which involves changing the use of an existing agricultural building in the grounds of Thorn Cross Young Offenders Institution in Arley Road, Appleton Thorn – has attracted opposition from a local councillor and a nearby resident.
Members of the borough council’s development management committee deferred a decision when the plan came before them last month.
They were told a nearby resident had objected on the grounds of noise, glare from light and road safety issues and borough councillor Brian Axcell opposed the scheme on the grounds it was an unacceptable commercial operation in the Green Belt and would cause harm to living conditions in a neighbouring property.
But another neighbour supported the scheme and wished the project success.
The proposed shop would mainly sell produce grown or made on the site.
Planning officers believe there would no external alterations to the existing building so there would be no impact on the Green Belt.
The small scale of the operation would mean it would not affect any retail centres, the nearest of which was more than a mile away. But it would fulfil a local need.
The plan is for some 70 per cent of the goods on sale to be grown or made on the site with 30 per cent being imported goods which cannot be grown on the site such as potatoes, oranges, bananas and honey.
The aim is to serve the local community of Appleton Thorn – which has no existing shop.
Pictured: The existing building, viewed from Arley Road.
The building to be converted into a farm shop
Planners take second look at prison farm shop plan
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1 Comment
We live just a few hundred yards from this proposed development, which is opposite the school. Arley Road can be tricky at school opening and closing times with the traffic from HMP YOI adding to this.
I understand that the school has been consulted, the traffic problems discussed and an agreement, I believe, for the shop to open after school drop off. I also believe, although I haven’t viewed the planning application, that car parking will be provided.
We haven’t had a shop in this village for years. I was the last customer when the post office/shop closed. The shop was next to the proposed development.
I, personally would wholly support this development because:
a) any shop in this village would be very useful, farm shops are booming locally.
b) the training and opportunity offered by this development within HMP YOI can only add to their rehabilitation programmes. Surely we should support this.
c) this village has always enjoyed tremendous support from HMP YOI in various forms. A lot of work goes on in the background by them which a lot of people may not be aware of. I am directly involved with the Bawming event which would be very difficult to present without the tremendous amount of support we get from the YOI. They, at least, deserve our support in this venture.
d) the comment that it is an ‘unacceptable commercial operation in the Green Belt’ is ridiculous considering there was a shop next door for many years and on the other side is a great big industrial estate!
Nora Carlin