Post office expansion is opposed

Plans to extend a newsagents to create extra space for its post office have been criticised.

Nottingham Road Stores, Bingham, wants to extend its premises to accommodate the post office and create extra retail space.

Some residents are concerned about the loss of green space on the corner of Brewsters Close, on which the extension would be built, and a potential increase in the number of delivery vehicles and cars parking around the store.

They say the delivery area at the back of the store cannot be used because large vehicles cannot turn around there and it is unsafe for them to reverse out on to the road.

They are concerned vehicles that cannot use this area will park on Brewsters Close, narrowing the path and road and making access difficult for other vehicles and pedestrians.

The extension was opposed by Bingham Town Council.

The planning committee chairman, Mrs Sue Hull, said: “There is quite a lot of opposition about the loss of green space on the corner of Brewsters Close.

“Parking in Brewsters Close is dire. The majority of people who go to the post office go by car and quite frequently reverse from the carpark on to the main road.”

Mrs Hull said residents’ concerns had to be considered.

A committee member, Mr George Davidson, said it was out of keeping with the area.

“It is in a very conspicuous spot and if you get a reasonable amount of large deliveries down there, it is likely to cause serious traffic congestion,” he said.

“It is out of keeping with the street scene, detrimental to the area and would lead to serious difficulties in terms of traffic and parking.”

Postmistress Mrs Pauline Dhesi said there was not enough room to accommodate the post office and convenience store.

“Since we took over the post office, Bingham has grown a lot and it’s going to grow a lot in the future,” she said.

“We don’t think it’s viable to keep it how it is. We own the land on the corner of Brewsters Close so we thought a good solution would be to try and house the post office there.”

Mrs Dhesi said the parking situation would not get worse as the carpark at the front of the store would double in size.

She said the loss of green space was unfortunate.

Rushcliffe Borough Council will decide the planning application.