The fate of an “ugly monstrosity” in a growing Somerset village will be settled at a public inquiry just after Easter. The Crispin Shopping Centre has been a feature of Street since 1979, but has experienced several years of decline since the closure of the village’s Tesco Metro store.
Churchill Retirement Living put forward plans in January 2024 to demolish the shopping centre and build a retirement complex in its place, with 45 extra care apartments and 11 ‘retirement cottages’. Somerset Council’s planning committee east (which handles major applications in the former Mendip area) voted against the proposals in July 2024, citing a lack of parking, an unattractive design and possible damage to local heritage assets.
The Hampshire-based developer lodged an appeal against this “extremely disappointing” decision shortly after the committee meeting, with the Planning Inspectorate confirming that an inquiry to settle the issue will begin on April 23. The site is one of nine identified for delivering new housing within the council’s revised Mendip Local Plan Part II, which went out to public consultation in 2024.
Under Churchill’s proposals, the existing buildings would be replaced with a three-storey, L-shaped block of apartments, with two blocks of cottages on the northern and eastern sides. Access will be from Leigh Road (including a pedestrian entrance near the library), while the current pedestrian access from High Street will be used primarily as a service entrance.
A communal car park with 21 spaces will be provided in the centre of the site, with landscaping being put in place to separate the homes from the council-run Southside car park on Vestry Road. Churchill Retirement Living currently operates the Riverain Lodge care facility in Taunton town centre, and secured planning permission in early-April 2024 to deliver a similar development on the former police station site in Wells.
Proposed masterplan of retirement community on Leigh Road in Street
(Image: Planning Issues)
The planning committee east voted unanimously to refuse the plans on the following eight grounds:
- The development does not include a “completed legal mechanism” to secure affordable housing or contributions to local healthcare services and public open space
- The plans constitute “over-development” and will result in a “cramped and awkward arrangement” of buildings within the site
- The development could add to “excessive” phosphate levels on the Somerset Levels and Moors, with the developer not providing “sufficient technical information” for how phosphates generated from the site will be offset
- The developer has provided “insufficient information” on how existing trees within the site can be adequately protected
- The site does not include “adequate provision” for parking, with the lack of spaces and limited room for manoeuvring expected to displace parking within the village centre and encourage more people to park on the road
- The developer has provided “insufficient information” that the planned vehicular access from Leigh Road will be safe
- The proposed development does not include adequate space for waste vehicles, which will create “additional hazards” for pedestrians and motorists as collection vehicles have to reverse onto the highway
- The developments will have a “negative impact” on local heritage assets, including the Street conservation area and Crispin Hall
Artist’s impression of extra care apartments within the Crispin Centre site on Leigh Road in Street
(Image: Planning Issues)
Churchill Retirement Living said the development was “in a sustainable location” and would deliver “tangible benefits” to the local community. A spokesman said: “The site is in a highly accessible location, making it suitable for older people.
“The location of the development will make a positive and sustainable contribution to the local economy in terms of placing development where it is needed in an accessible location, ensuring there is no undue reliance on use of the private car for future occupants. The appeal proposal will assist in releasing and freeing up under-occupied houses elsewhere in the county back into the housing market.
“The development will allow independent living, reducing security worries for older people and reducing loneliness and isolation by creating a community and having someone who can be called upon in an emergency.”
The Crispin Centre at 85 High Street in Street
(Image: Daniel Mumby)
The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that the appeal will be settled through a public inquiry, which will begin on Wednesday, April 23 and last for up to six days, including a site visit.
To make a formal representation to the inquiry, visit www.acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk and quote reference number 3356026 by January 30.
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