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By Andrew Brown
Plans for a new M&S Foodhall, Lidl, business park and Costa on Formby Bypass are set to go before Sefton Council planners next week.
Plans for a major new development featuring an M&S Foodhall, Lidl supermarket, business park and drive-through Costa on Formby Bypass look set to be approved next week.
Sefton Council planning officers have recommended councillors give the go-ahead to The Point, a 31-acre development on land immediately north of Formby Industrial Estate and east of the A565.
The application will go before Sefton Council’s Planning Committee on Wednesday 16 September.
If approved, the development would bring two new supermarkets to the site alongside around 25,000 square metres of employment space.
More than three quarters of The Point is intended for employment uses, including small business starter units, offices and co-working space, light industrial premises, research and development facilities and larger commercial units.
The developers estimate the completed scheme could support more than 1,000 full and part-time jobs.
The plans also include a potential community medical facility, two drive-through units and a new traffic light controlled junction providing access directly from Formby Bypass.
One of the drive-through units would be occupied by Costa Coffee.
The proposed Lidl would measure 2,185 square metres and have 123 parking spaces.
A new 2,006 square metre M&S Foodhall would have 178 customer spaces, together with another 11 spaces for staff.
The plans have attracted objections during the planning process, including representations from Tesco and Waitrose as well as some Formby residents. Other residents have written to the council in support.
One of the key issues considered by planners has been the potential effect of the new shops on Formby village, especially the relocation of M&S Food.
Planning officers have concluded that the development would not have a significant adverse effect on the vitality and viability of Formby District Centre or other nearby shopping centres.
They have also considered concerns around flooding, ecology, highways and whether the location is sustainable.
The land is already allocated for employment development in Sefton’s Local Plan, something which weighs heavily in favour of the application.
Officers say ecological impacts can be appropriately mitigated and the development would not increase flood risk.
The developers have argued that the retail element of The Point is important to making the wider business park viable.
Income generated by the shops and other commercial uses would help fund major infrastructure needed to open up the site, including the new junction, roads, utilities and drainage.
Sefton & Formby Developments says the employment park would remain the dominant part of the scheme.
The company says it intends to begin construction at the earliest opportunity if planning permission is granted.
The proposals have been in the pipeline for some time, with Lidl, M&S and Costa already signed up to take space at the development.
Councillors will now have the final say when the application comes before the Planning Committee next Wednesday.
What do you think?
Would an M&S Foodhall, Lidl and new business park be good news for Formby, or are you concerned about the impact on the village and traffic on the bypass?
Hello Formby published this story first. A Formby Bubble article, “The Point set for crucial decision as concerns grow over loss of M&S from Formby Village”, appeared 19h 43m later. Copying score 26 out of 100: parts of this story reappear in a later Formby Bubble article.
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1% of this article's distinctive eight-word phrases also appear in the Formby Bubble article.
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Hello Formby published first; the Formby Bubble article appeared 19h 43m later.
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