New Shopping Precinct - Planning Application
Planning Application Ref:
2009/1168
Aug 2009

Dear Member,

Many of you will be aware of the proposal and planning application no 2009/1168 to develop the waste ground currently used as car parking for a number of cars and vans relating to our local shops to turn it into a shopping precinct of 11 shops with underground car parking for 13 vehicles. The proposals in our conservation area are wholly unsuitable for many reasons some of which are:

• The development is in a conservation area and is quite unsuitable in terms of mass and scale for the area.
• The only vehicular access into the development is from Church Street which is far too narrow to support such a development.
• Drive way access to the development is very restricted – 3.54 metres wide and less than the 3.7m required by the emergency services.
• On exiting the development the usable width of Church Street is little more than 2 metres allowing for parking on one side of the road making it unusable for deliveries from other than the smallest of vehicles. Trolley deliveries from the High Street for 11 shops in the precinct is just inappropriate and will increase congestion in a very busy area of Cobham.
• There is no requirement for additional shops; there are 8 empty at present and with the recent Sainsbury addition the position will get more acute.
• The weight of heavy traffic associated with such a development cannot be handled in Church Street with many Historic Old Houses without foundations. Church Street is already a busy cut through.
• The development would be a security risk in evenings and nights even with a code number system of entry.

We have lodged a formal objection and we are pleased to see that many of you have also sent in your written objections to Elmbridge Borough Council.

If you would like to see our objection letter (PDF file format) please click here.

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