28/04/07 (UK):
Landscape Architect Praises Tesco Design
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The planning inquiry into Tesco's proposals for a supermarket on stilts in Viaduct Estate, Carlisle, has been adjourned until June.
The surprise delay, agreed by planning inspector Andrew Pykett yesterday, is to give Carlisle City Council more time to study recent data from Tesco on traffic congestion.
But just before the adjournment, Tesco's case received a boost when Cumbria County Council, as highways authority, announced that it was happy with Tesco's projections showing that the road network could cope with the extra traffic.
Earlier this week, Carlisle MP Eric Martlew claimed that the 71,000sq ft store would cause traffic gridlock.
He told the hearing at the city's Civic Centre: "This site is a totally inappropriate location and, if developed, would lead to severe problems.
"The gridlock will be such that the only solution would be for Cumbria County Council to impose some form of congestion charge, just to keep the city moving."
Mr Martlew argued that a 24-hour Tesco operation would "severely impact" on the profitability of small shops in Denton Holme and Currock.
And he echoed Carlisle City Council's objections that a large Tesco in Viaduct Estate would hinder Carlisle Renaissance plans, prevent a supermarket being built in the west of the city and detract from historic surroundings.
But Ben Wright, a landscape architect appearing as an expert witness for Tesco, praised the design of the proposed store. He said: "It has been revisited to create a building which seeks to address the concerns in terms of siting, scale, bulk, form and appearance. Clever use of materials and architectural techniques creates a high-quality building of exceptional merit."
Earlier, another Tesco witness, town planner Jeremy Williams, argued that the store would reduce traffic congestion as those in the south and west of Carlisle would no longer have to cross the city centre to reach a supermarket.
The inquiry was scheduled to finish today. It will reconvene on June 12 to hear evidence from expert witnesses on traffic flows and congestion.
The inquiry is also hearing Tesco's appeal against the city council's failure to approve detailed plans for a smaller 40,000sq ft supermarket in Viaduct Estate, granted outline planning consent in 2005.
Tesco says it will build this smaller store if permission for the store on stilts is refused.
© X-Pro 2007
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