Major update on plans for £28m St Annes retail hub on 11-acre site including petrol station and garden centre
“The plans will be judged on their merits but there is a lot to think about.”
A new £28m retail park and industrial scheme could be coming to St Annes.
A company called Luna Developments, based in the Ribble Valley, has applied to Fylde Council to develop 11 acres of land off Queensway and Scafell Road to create a new shopping area.
It is proposed to include a discount food store, a "variety store with garden centre" and petrol station, alongside new industrial units.
The proposal also includes a gym, drive-through coffee shop and drive-through restaurant, with car parking and landscaping.
The site, close to Blackpool Airport and adjacent to a main road between St Annes and Blackpool, is scrubland which has been the subject of various development plans over the years, which have never progressed.
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Local councillors from Fylde’s Kilnhouse ward are looking at full details of the plan but have already have expressed concerns over traffic and environmental issues over the proposal.
Cllr Karen Henshaw said: “There have been plans for this site before but have fallen through because of the issue of traffic on Queensway, which can get very busy.
“The idea of one way in and out onto that road, as has been suggested previously, would I feel present safety concerns.
“A second entry and exit point on Scafell road was suggested for a previous plan but the developers weren’t interested.
“Also, from a retail point of view, do we really need shopping and coffee options out there when we are trying to promote St Annes Square as a destination?
“The plans will be judged on their merits but there is a lot to think about.”
Fellow Kilnhouse ward councillor Joanne Gardner said: “I’m still looking at the details of the plans but I am worried about the idea of the proposed site being on green land, while there is also an ancient bridleway between St Annes and Blackpool there and that would have to be re-sited.”
The development is planned to cover 77,300 sq ft over the 11-acre site, with the retail park proposed to be built on nine acres of the site and accessed via Queensway.
Tenants have not been announced, but Luna say there are visions for who might occupy the space.
The plans drawn up by KPP Architects include a 21,200 sq ft discount food store and a 30,000 sq ft variety retail store with a 10,000 sq ft garden centre.
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There is also provision for a store and gym of 16,800 sq ft, a 1,800 sq ft drive-through coffee shop, and a 2,300 sq ft drive-through restaurant.
A petrol station of 5,200 sq ft is also proposed, alongside 338 car parking spaces, including 16 bays with electric vehicle charging capabilities and 25 disabled bays.
The outline portion of the project includes an expanded home for Gillett Environmental, a family-run waste management company.
The 2.3-acre part of the plot allocated for that portion of the scheme would be capable of accommodating 43,200 sq ft industrial units, with access from Scafell Road.
In addition to KPP and De Pol Associates, the project team includes Edge Consulting Engineers, PDA Acoustics, I-Transport, Bowland Tree Consultancy, and Redmore Environmental.
Full details of the plan are on Fylde Council’s planning portal, reference 26/0122.