Plans for a 10,000 sq ft expansion of Highbridge’s Asda store have been officially lodged with the district council this week with local opinions divided on whether the proposals are positive for the town or not.
As first reported here in January, Asda wants to refurbish its Caxton Road store, adding a brand new mezzanine floor for a cafe and expanded product range, along with other store alterations which include a revamp of its car park.
Asda says its own consultation exercise at the store revealed there is strong support from customers.
However, town councillors have expressed concerns about the scheme. Cllr Bill Hancock told a recent meeting: “To my mind, it will crucify small shops in the area – I do not support the plans. As a small businessman myself, I am against the proposals 100%. The store is plenty big enough as it is.”
Another Highbridge councillor, Helen Groves, added: “The impact on our local High Streets needs to be carefully considered, particularly since the amount of non-grocery space will increase at the store, putting it in competition with local shops.”
But Alan Jones, Asda’s estates town planning manager, said this week: “We’d like to provide more choice and a wider range of goods, with wider aisles and more checkouts so that we can continue to provide for our customers’ needs. We’d like to thank all those who have expressed an interest in our proposals – their input has been invaluable.”
“There was a lot of interest, and the feedback shows overwhelming support for what we hope to do from those who completed the comment forms.”
The response from Asda’s survey found the most popular change would be a wider range of products (89%), closely followed by a cafeteria (82%) and more George-branded clothing (80%).
The planning application has now been submitted to Sedgemoor District Council and it can be found with the application reference 11/14/00032.
The latest development comes just months after the Highbridge store’s plans for a new petrol station were approved, as we reported here.
