MARPLE SUPERMARKET DEVELOPMENT GETS GREEN LIGHT BUT ASDA IS OUT

Kirkland Developments has won the battle to develop a supermarket in Marple after it was granted full planning permission by Stockport Council and Asda’s rival plan was rejected.

The battle to stop an ASDA supermarket being built on the outskirts of Marple was finally won last Friday – to the delight of the town’s residents.

ASDA were trying to buy the land on Hibbert Lane, before their application received a final rejection at a Planning and Highways Committee meeting.

For almost two years, Marple in Action have been fighting to stop the retail giant getting the land and vice-chair Mick McPhee was delighted with the result.

“It’s excellent. It’s been a long, drawn out campaign but it is an excellent outcome,” he said. “Marple could have become a ghost town.

“As the ASDA proposal is outside Marple, it would take footfall away from the town and probably would have closed a lot of the businesses.”

Kirkland proposed a 25,000 sq ft food store on a two-acre site in the centre of Marple. The Trinity street site is currently a public car park and Royal Mail sorting office. The scheme includes landscaping and extensive public realm works to Trinity Street and the surrounding area.

Dan Brown, principal planner at HOW Planning, said: “Our scheme will not only result in the physical regeneration of an underutilised in-centre site but will also create a lasting legacy as a high-quality food retail development which ‘anchors’ the district centre, creating a significant longstanding attraction. It provides an ideal opportunity to expand and radically enhance the existing retail offer within Marple.”