Plans for a new McDonald's, Starbucks and Screwfix near Garstang could be held up
Proposals for a new McDonald’s, Starbucks and Screwfix outlets near to Garstang could be held up if planning approval is granted after the Environment Agency raised land contamination concerns.
The large scale project amount to a new retail park, earmarked for a site off Garstang Bypass Road at the village of Claughton-on-Brock.
The application has attracted mixed opinions, from strong objections to keen support from other residents.
Now locals are awaiting a date for the application to go before Wyre’s planning committee, hoping that a meeting will be imminent after the updated proposals were lodged back in January.
The amended plans were validated on January 17 and since then Wyre’s planning portal has been inundated with more than 450 comments, with opinions very much divided over the controversial proposals.
The new site will be called Claughton-on-Brock Trade Park and is being developed by Toll Bar Ltd, sister company of J. Robinson Building Contractors Ltd, a local, family run firm.
Objections include fears that resulting traffic disruption, noise, litter and anti-social behaviour will make life unbearable for residents of nearest community Catterall, a village less than half a mile away.
However, supporters point to the convenience and the job opportunities the scheme would bring.
Environment Agency concerns
The Environment Agency has also commented on the scheme, raising concerns that the agricultural land may contain contaminants associated with agriculture that could be “mobilised” during development and be a risk to Controlled Waters and specifically Lancaster Canal.
This area of water is in Groundwater Source Protection Zone (SPZ) 1 for public water supply.
In a new comment added to the planning portal last week, Wyre’s Environmental Protection said it would not object to the application with reference to contaminated land, provided a condition was attached if the scheme was approved.
The condition would entail “ a site investigation scheme, to provide information for a detailed assessment of the risk to all receptors that may be affected.”
This would then include “a verification plan providing details of the data that will be collected in order to demonstrate that the works set out in the remediation strategy are complete and identifying any requirements for longer-term monitoring of pollutant linkages, maintenance and arrangements for contingency action.”
The current application is a larger variation of proposals already approved by Wyre planners last year.
Outline planning permission was granted in August 2023 for an application which included a 400 square metre café/restaurant for the Claughton-on-Brock Trade Park, along with the other units.
However, the more recent application includes plans to increase the McDonalds cafe/restaurant to 523 square metres and is also seeking a 24 hour opening time for it.
The latest proposals are for proposed mixed-use development comprising of 3 storage and distribution units (Use Class B8), 1 office Unit (Use Class E(g)(i)) and 2 cafe/restaurant units with drive-thru (Use Class E(b)/Sui Generis), including creation of a new access and associated works.
No decision has been made on the proposals by planners at this stage, but additional documents and comments have continued to be added to the application.