Chesterfield home and leisure store operator plans external garden centre
A store in Chesterfield selling homewares, DIY and gardening products, craft, stationery and food items is aiming to grow its offering to customers.
The operating company which trades as The Range is seeking planning permission for an external garden centre in front of its store on Lordsmill retail park.
An agent acting for CDS (Superstores International) Ltd has applied to Chesterfield Borough Council for consent to provide the garden centre, fence with security netting and pedestrian access and ramp between the existing store and the new addition. Four parking spaces would be lost under the plan for the garden centre on the proposed 1.61 sqm site which is located to the right of the entrance approaching the store.
A design and access statement submitted by MWA reads: “The garden centre will not operate independently of the existing store and the vast majority of the products sold will be bulky in nature. This includes garden compost, topsoil, fertilisers, water butts, garden sheds, a range of plants, shrubs and small trees, patio slabs, bark chipping, timber fencing and decking, sand and ornamental gravel and other stones for paths and borders. All of these goods require transportation by the customer at the point of sale and access to a surface level car park for trolleys is essential in such circumstances.
"The company has an unexpired lease which runs until 2034. It provides a viable and commercially attractive outlet at a size which is consistent with the company’s preference to open and operate larger stores, preferably with a garden centre. To relocate the entire store would involve having to surrender or reallocate the lease. This would not only be very expensive but would also be very difficult given the limited number of retailers seeking this amount of space in non-central locations.”
None of the vacant units in Chesterfield town centre are considered suitable for the proposal. The report from MWA stated: “They provide insufficient space to accommodate both a relocated store with garden centre. The company could not operate a viable garden centre from within any of the units because they do not provide an external space within which goods can be displayed. Typically, garden centre items are displayed on racks up to 2-3 metres in height and none of the units provide the ability to display goods in this manner. Nor are they accessible by forklift trucks and all plants and shrubs would be subject to growth under artificial light. In short, they are simply not suitable.”