HUNDREDS of Poynton residents are expected to attend a meeting to debate proposals for a Waitrose in the village’s shopping district.
Echoing the public meeting held for Tesco in January, Poynton Parish Council has devoted the whole agenda to Waitrose’s plans for a 16,000sq ft store on Park Lane, and residents have been invited to attend.
More than 700 people visited Waitrose’s public exhibition held earlier this month, and of the 403 people who made written comments, 211 were opposed. A further 152 said they were in favour, while 40 chose not to take sides at that time.
Expecting a large turnout, councillors have chosen the civic centre’s main hall, rather than the traditional council chamber venue, to gather and discuss the scheme.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 16, at 7.30pm.
Councillor Laurence Clarke, chairman of Poynton Parish Council’s Planning and Environment Committee, insists that the meeting will hear from as wide a range of different opinions as possible.
He said: "We want the meeting to be in the same style as the Tesco one.
"The public will be given an opportunity to ask questions, and any campaign group wishing to make opposition will be given a chance to speak."
Waitrose has been invited to make representations at the planning meeting, and it is hoped a representative will be on hand to answer residents’ questions.
After opening up the meeting to any comments from the floor, the committee will then weigh up Waitrose’s plans and take a decision to recommend that Macclesfield Borough Council either reject or accept them.
The borough council’s planning committee will take the parish’s thoughts into consideration, along with representations from police, fire, environment and highway authorities, before making their final decision next month.
If Waitrose chiefs are given the green light, the Park Lane outlet will be two-thirds the size of the branch in Cheadle Hulme.
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Annobel (30/03/2008 at 12:53)
shows the road as almost devoid of traffic. This is seldom the case except in the small hours. It is also nothing like as wide as it is in the picture. Perhaps an artist with less rose-coloured spectacles would give a different impression - of traffic queueing to get into, out of, or past the store. It's bad enough at present trying to get through Poynton but with a major supermarket right inthe middle of the vilage it would be pointless even to try. Parking in the civic car park is good at the moment but it's usually well-used and with the extra spaces needed for Waitrose, people wanting to use the Library or attend the Medical Centre might well find themselves squeezed out. I'm sorry to have to oppose the application because I like Waitrose, its products and the John Lewis partnership ethos, but just not here in Poynton, please.
Village Sentinelle (28/04/2008 at 23:43)
The Satisfied Customer (05/05/2008 at 09:48)