Discount foodstore at Cheltenham Road, Bishop's Cleeve, Cheltenham

What was proposed

The application proposed a 1,782-square-metre Class E discount foodstore with parking, access, servicing, landscaping and associated works.

“Planning Committee Date 19 August 2025 Case Officer Sarah Smith Application No. 23/00990/FUL Site Location Land East Of A435 And North Meadow Lea Cheltenham Road Bishops Cleeve Proposal Erection of a Class E discount foodstore with associated access, parking and servicing areas, landscaping, and other associated works.”

“The application proposes the erection of a Class E discount foodstore with associated access, car parking and landscaping works. The proposed store extends to 1,782 sqm(gross), facilitating a 1,315 sqm retail sales area. The scheme provides 108 customer spaces including 5 x active vehicle charging points, 6 x disabled spaces and 8 x parent and child spaces. 16 further spaces are denoted as spaces for future electrical charging provision.”

Officer report

The site

The 0.8-hectare site was surplus car parking beside offices, with roads and parking nearby and homes directly to the south.

“The site is a 0.8ha area of land which it is understood is surplus to requirements car parking, part of a much larger car park associated with The Grange offices to the north. To the west of the site is the A435 and to the east is further car parking. Directly to the south are residential properties along Meadoway with further residential properties along Meadow Lea.”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended permission because the proposal reused developed land, provided retail choice and jobs, and its harms would not outweigh its benefits.

“The development would utilise previously developed land and would deliver of a new food store and retail choice for the settlement. There would be economic benefits during construction and through the creation of up to 40 jobs in the local area.”

“The proposal does not cause any harm to heritage assets. In design terms, notwithstanding the final materials details, the design and layout are considered to be acceptable given the constraints of the site. The proposal also does not raise any residential amenity issues in terms of a loss of light, outlook and privacy. The development would not be at an unacceptable risk of flooding and appropriate drainage infrastructure is proposed as part of the development.”

Officer report

Consultation responses

Most consultees had no objections, while highways and several specialist consultees supported permission subject to conditions and legal obligations.

“County Highways Officer – No objections subject to conditions and S106 Agreement…”

“County Minerals and Waste – No objections subject to conditions…”

Officer report

Public views

More than 330 letters supported the store for choice, jobs and accessibility, while 13 objections cited traffic, parking, noise and retail impacts.

“Over 330 letters of support for the proposal have been received on some or all of the following grounds :- - Provides greater choice - Prevents customers driving further afield to Cheltenham or Tewkesbury - Existing stores cannot cope with number of people using them - Will provide local jobs - Easily accessed site - Good use of underused land - Useful for people in Cleeve with mobility problems - Centre of Cleeve congested - Will support growing population - Accessible for…”

“- Loss of parking for offices - Increased traffic - Shoppers unlikely to walk along busy road - Noise pollution - Light pollution - No market need - No sustainable location for sustainable transport choices - Impact on highway safety - Precedent for loss of remainder of site - Anti-social behaviour after hours - Noise and disruption during construction - Infrastructure cannot cope - Enough supermarkets already - Doesn’t create jobs, just redistributes them…”

Officer report

Who spoke

The applicant’s representative described the store’s community, employment, accessibility, energy and investment benefits.

Members’ questions

Members discussed highway congestion, the site’s employment use, economic benefits, retail impact, electric-vehicle charging and the energy strategy.

“Another Member asked how long the site had been unused for employment purposes, and therefore the strength of the argument that it was not fit for purpose; if job creation was the only measure of economic benefit; and whether the use of percentages in terms of the impact on Bishops Cleeve centre was overemphasising the negative impact given growth in the area and the borough more widely.”

“A Member sought clarification that the EV charging points would be online prior to the store opening and noted that Condition 9 did not include timescales for the installation of the five initial charging points. The County Highways representative considered this to be a valid point and agreed that the condition could be amended to state that the initial charging points must be operational prior to store opening, should Members so wish.”

Minutes

The decision

Authority was delegated to permit the application subject to conditions, the agreed amendments and a Section 106 agreement covering biodiversity and travel-plan monitoring.

“RESOLVED That authority be DELEGATED to the Director: Growth to PERMIT the application, subject to conditions set out in the Committee report and the Additional Representations Sheet, the amendment of Condition 9 to specify that the five initial Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points must be operational prior to store opening, the addition of an informative to explain what the applicant needed to do in respect of Condition 32, and any additional or amended conditions, and the…”

Minutes