Sainbury’s supermarket plans for former Homebase, on Northgate, Newark, face opposition from Newark Town Council over traffic concerns

Plans for a new supermarket in Newark are facing opposition due to concerns over traffic management and safety in the area.

In August last year, Sainsbury’s bought the former Homebase store on Northgate Retail Park, which officially closed its doors in December, with plans to convert the building into a full size supermarket.

However, it was confirmed by Newark and Sherwood District Council that in order for the plans to go ahead, the retail giant must first submit an application for a change the use, to allow the sale of food.

These plans have now officially been submitted, but face opposition from both residents and statutory consultees, with major concerns over the lack of parking infrastructure and potential negative impact on traffic turning onto Northgate and Lincoln Road.

Newark Town Council’s planning committee are the latest consultee to comment on the proposals.

It was noted that the county highway authority objected to plans “on the basis that the applicant has failed to demonstrate the impact on the highway and has not properly considered the parking demand for the change in use.”

Barbara Corrigan said this was enough of a basis to for the council to object to the plans, adding to comments already made by members of the public.

“I think there is a lack of parking, with a relatively small amount of space which was adequate for a DIY store but for a supermarket just won’t be big enough,” she said.

“Then the sheer volume of traffic that will be trying to turn onto Lincoln Road, it’s an accident waiting to happen.”

She also raised a question about where frequent HGV deliveries would be able to make deliveries, and added that for Sainsbury’s to realistically meet all of the infrastructural requirements, the current building would “require knocking down”, with “a complete new layout” of the site for it to work.

Another sticking point is the proposal that an Argos will be located within the supermarket, which Lynn Roulstone worried would mean the closure of the current Argos store on Cartergate and the creation of yet another empty unit in the town centre.

She added: “It will only make traffic in Newark worse than it already is.

“It’s also a very small site for a supermarket, therefore I don’t see how this would be a useful addition to the town.”

Laurence Goff was more vocal in his support, and believed that the residents living in houses within walking distance would be those most likely to shop at the new supermarket and would be less likely to drive, therefore the car park situation was less of an issue.

Mathew Skinner was also supportive, but hesitant, saying: “I have a bit of sympathy for these guys [Sainsbury’s], because they have been trying to get into Newark for years.

“That particular site is quite fragile — but if not here, where is it going to go?”

“As a council are we really going to say we don’t want this economic benefit? Because there will be a lot of new jobs created.”

Neil Ross agreed that in principle he could support the application, but on the provision that the traffic situation was addressed.

Sainsbury’s currently only operates a small store in Balderton, but does not have a presence in Newark itself.

In the application, the retailer argues that “introducing a new supermarket operator into a competitive market encourages existing retailers to raise their standards, improve customer service, and deliver competitive pricing.”

They also state that the creation of a new supermarket would allow them to generate up to 33 full time and 67 part time jobs for people living in the town.

The council ultimately voted to object to the plans, but offered their support to the principle of Sainsbury’s providing a new shop in Newark in a different location.

Newark and Sherwood District Council, will make the final decision on whether to grant a change of use or not.