PLANS for a new Countrywide store on the outskirts of Malvern are to be reconsidered by district planners, despite already being approved.
The application by J and C Brook to turn their car showroom and vehicle rental depot on the roundabout at the junction of Worcester Road and Townsend Way into a retail store was approved by Malvern Hills District Council's southern area planning committee in November, against officers' recommendations.
Now the application is to be reconsidered by the council's full planning committee on Tuesday, January 14, because officers felt the decision clashed with planning guidance, which pinpoints the site for employment use and not as a retail area.
In his report to the committee, head of planning Gary Williams says: "It is suggested the proposed unrestricted move to non-food retail use could establish a clear precedent of district-wide significance."
He suggests if the planning committee endorses the approval, the permission should be limited to the sale of non-food bulky farming and countryside related goods only, despite this being difficult to enforce.
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