Pondering on Potterdyke

There has been a mixed response to consultations over the plans for the supermarket development on the Potterdyke site and the idea of putting a bus station at The Wharf in Newark.

A report will go before a meeting of Newark and Sherwood District Council planning committee on Tuesday to update members on the comments received so far.

A thousand letters have been sent out asking for comments on the Potterdyke development and more than 400 about the plans to put a bus station at The Wharf.

The head of planning, Mr Mike Evans, said they received a petition signed by 140 people supporting the Potterdyke development, along with 19 letters of support and 39 letters opposing it.

There has also been a petition signed by 303 people saying they see no reason to move the bus station from its current site.

A total of 51 people said they opposed plans to put it at The Wharf and five said they supported the idea.

English Heritage objected to the granting of planning permission for the Potterdyke site because information submitted with the application was inadequate for determining the extent of the work.

They also objected to the plans to the bus station at The Wharf because of the impact on the castle and Ossington.

Newark Civic Trust objected to both as did Newark Town Council and many surrounding parish councils.

The objections for the Potterdyke scheme include worries about traffic congestion, loss of long-term parking and a feeling that there is no need for another supermarket or more shops.

Some thought the design was poor, would affect the setting of buildings listed for protection, and was out of scale with no public open space.

Those in support say it is close to the town, is a well thought out design and would get rid of the Robin Hood hotel eyesore.

There have also been comments that there is a need for another supermarket and the new facilities would benefit the town.

The objections to having a bus station at The Wharf include problems of traffic congestion and the impact on local businesses and residents. They also say there are better sites and it would have an impact on the setting of the Castle and Ossington.

But there have been comments from some people who say it is close to the town centre, and bus stops would still be available at Potterdyke.

Almost 200 people visited an exhibition of the plans when they were on display in an empty shop on Cartergate for five days.

Of those 53 took the opportunity to make comments and there were also comments from 12 people who looked at the exhibition when it was on show in Kelham Hall.

Of those, 34 said they supported the application and 24 said they opposed to it. A total of 30 said they wanted a new bus station and 29 said they supported that application.

A total of 23 said they felt it was unnecessary and 24 said they opposed the application.

Mr Evans said there were many issues to look at following the consultations and there had already been some discussions to try to resolve some of the points made.

He said he expected a package with revisions and clarifications to be submitted in the near future and once these had been assessed and further consultations carried out the matter would return to the planning committee.