Sainsbury's gets Ottery traffic nod over Tesco
TRAFFIC chiefs have given the green light to Sainsbury's Ottery plans- and put the skids under Tesco factory site proposals.
Devon County Council (DCC) highways experts on Tuesday revealed they have "no objections" to Sainsbury's Hind Street bid- despite "gridlock chaos" fears from residents.
On the same day, Tesco factory site plans were recommended for refusal.
The authority also revealed the list of perks it deems Ottery must receive if Sainsbury's is allowed to set up shop in the town, which includes:
* £200,000 towards the proposed pedestrian and cycle bridge link over the River Otter.
* £45,000 per year for three years to extend the existing 'town bus' service, which currently only operates on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, to run six days a week.
* A zebra crossing in Hind Street, adjacent to Tar Lane.
* A staff travel plan to be agreed in writing before the proposed store opens.
East Devon District Council (EDDC) will consider DCC highways' views when it determines the fate of both rival planning applications.
DCC's development management officer for major schemes, Peter Martin, says in his recommendations to EDDC that a traffic assessment by developers behind the Tesco bid is "inadequate" in addressing the potential effect on traffic conditions and public safety.
He said the "joint" transport assessment encapsulates several planning applications for the factory site, and this "unusual approach" has hindered his judgment, adding:
"At very least this proposed food store application should have been the subject of a separate transport assessment to allow the overall impact of the food store to be judged independently.
"As a result I am unable to make an informed judgement of the traffic and transportation impact of the development and have no option to recommend refusal."
Mr Martin reveals the brains behind the factory-site bid handed in a last-gasp traffic assessment, specific to Tesco's food store plans, but it was "impossible" to assess before his consultation deadline passed.
Last year, some residents were alarmed when Sainsbury's Hind Street store plans stated town centre traffic could increase by as much as 61per cent at peak shopping times, and, that 20,000 cars would pass through the town each week if proposals got the go-ahead.
However, Mr Martin tells EDDC of the Sainsbury's bid: "This proposal is considered to be acceptable in principle in traffic and transportation terms, in view of its town centre location and accessibility by all available modes, providing viable alternatives to the private car.
"While there will be clearly be an increase in traffic generation as a result of the development, the levels of additional traffic are not assessed to be unacceptable, nor are they likely to result in a problem in either capacity or safety terms, subject to several proposed improvements to, in particular, pedestrian facilities, in the vicinity."
Mr Martin adds he has "no objection" to the submitted Sainsbury's application, provided the firm forks out for the required community benefits.
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