Plans for a convenience store in Cambuslang to relocate to a bigger and more accessible premises has been approved.
At the planning committee meeting on Tuesday (January 24), councillors heard of proposals to relocate the Nisa Superstore on Western Road in Cambuslang to a larger and more modern site nearby.
The new shop will be located at 151 Western Road, it will be more accessible for customers and will be slightly larger than the current store; the new unit will have a delicatessen counter within the premises.
The area for the new store forms part of the East Whitlawburn regeneration area which is outlined in the South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2.
The current site is used as a car park and storage area associated with the nearby regeneration of East Whitlawburn. The area is currently accessed from both Western Road and Morven Road.
Two previous applications were submitted for the site, and both plans sought to build homes – these plans fall in line with the Local Development Plan 2.
However, although no housing is proposed to be formed as part of this application, the provision of a convenience shop is considered by council officers to be an appropriate use of the site.
Statutory neighbourhood notification was undertaken and seven letters of objection were received.
A range of issues were raised, one being car parking issues. The council’s Roads and Transportation services consulted in respect of the application and confirmed that in terms of their car parking requirements, there is sufficient space available in the car park located at the site.
In response to concerns about parking, a planning officer at the meeting said: “I would highlight the response from our roads colleagues because parking has been raised as an issue. In total there will be 162 spaces for the whole commercial area, and 44 would be required for this retail unit. So the remaining spaces are considered to be sufficient to accommodate all of the commercial development that is there and the proposed development.”
Another issue was the closure of the access road from the site onto Morven Road which could impact traffic. Roads and Transportation services undertook a detailed assessment of the access road and from observation of the usage of the site, teams noted that the access onto Western Road is the primary access point to the sire and only a small portion of drivers use the Morven Road access by comparison.
Council officers recommended the proposals as the store will serve the local community including the area at East Whitlawburn which is currently the subject of a significant regeneration project.
