Major Grantham Downtown designer outlet centre plans to come before committee again
Plans for a major designer outlet centre at the Downtown site near Grantham will be determined again next week.
The plans for the outlet centre off Old Great North Road, Great Gonerby, feature more than 100 individual designer outlet stores, 1,979 parking spaces, offices, leisure provision, a training academy and a multi-storey car park.
The plans will be debated by the planning committee at South Kesteven District Council on Thursday, April 21, after slight amendments were made to them. The outline plans were approved towards the end of last year.
It has been opposed by Newark Town Council and Newark and Sherwood District Council over fears of its impact on Newark town centre trade.
The plans also involve the demolition of the existing garden centre which will be replaced by a smaller two-storey garden centre. They also include a tourist information and visitor centre.
The existing Downtown and Boundary Mill stores and café will remain, although improvements to the south, south-eastern and south-western elevations are included in the application. The existing distribution warehouse will be demolished as part of the plans.
In his report to the committee, principal planning officer Phil Jordan says: "The designer outlet centre would sit alongside the existing Downtown store, replacement garden centre and the proposed large goods retail unit which will sell goods at full prices.
"While the existing Downtown store includes the sale of discounted goods within the Boundary Mill section of the store, the only restriction on the use of that building for retail purposes is that it can only be used for the sale of non-food products."
Mr Jordan also referred to the potential for a railway station at the outlet centre. He said: "Some of the supporting information refers to an aspirational 'Northern Gateway' to Grantham which includes a potential Downtown Grantham railway station and a park & ride area. However, it is important to note that these aspirations do not form part of the development being considered under this application and should not be afforded any weight in the determination of the application."
Work on a separate £100 million designer outlet village south of Grantham between the A1 and Spittlegate Level is already under way. The applicant for this retail village, Rioja, has objected to the Downtown plans.
