Plans For North Yorkshire Retail Park Revealed

Plans For North Yorkshire Retail Park Revealed

There could be a surge in the number of scaffolders in York required in North Yorkshire soon, after plans for a new retail park in the region have been revealed.

BP Oil UK Limited has unveiled proposals for the development on the outskirts of Thirsk, which would include a new petrol station.

It has appointed planning and development consultancy Lichfields to seek consent for the initiative, which would also feature an M&S Simply Food store, a Costa Coffee, and a McDonald’s.

Lichfields wanted to garner the views of local people before going ahead with the proposals, and held a public consultation at Thirsk Town Hall last week (November 28th) between 15:00 and 19:00. This enabled nearby residents and businesspeople to have their say on the £7 million development plans.

Associate director at Lichfields Robert Dibden believes the site would be great for the area, providing 70 new full-time jobs, as well as offering retail, fuel and food outlets for locals.

He stated: “Neither McDonald’s nor Costa are currently represented in the town and the new drive-thru restaurant and drive-thru coffee shop would offer new facilities and well-known brands for locals and passers-by.”

It would also feature a BP petrol station, which would have up to four electric vehicle charging points, and a HGV fuelling facilities. This would be ideally placed, located next to the A170/A19/A168 roundabout, on land that is currently unused.

Following the public consultation, Lichfields is expected to deliver a full planning application to the council. It is anticipated that this could be submitted as early as the beginning of next year, according to Insider Media.

This site could be good news for the area, as Thirsk is currently home to small local shops, such as bakeries, a greengrocer and a butcher, and some convenience stores.

With so few retail centres for residents, having an M&S Food Outlet, as well as the petrol station, could fill a gap in the market.

Indeed, according to the Thirsk & District Business Association: “Thirsk offers a great retail opportunity for any new or growing business looking to reach customers from the high street.”

While this site will not be located on the high street, it is in a good position for people heading towards the North Yorkshire town by car to grab some food or a coffee on their way.

BP Oil UK and Lichfield have a good chance of their proposals being accepted, as the government is keen to support more developments in Yorkshire.

This has been shown by housing minister Esther McVey revealing the county will be given £30 million towards construction companies for new housing developments in the region.

The finance is part of the Construction Corridor project, which will see more investment in building factories to boost the number of houses built from modular components. For instance, Homes’ factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, anticipates the extra money will help it increase the number of modular homes it creates a year from 2,000 in 2020 to 5,000 by 2025.

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