CONCERNS have been raised a new multi-million pound shopping centre in Worcester could have worrying implications for the future of Malvern’s own retail park.
At a strategic planning meeting held last Thursday (January 14), several councillors of Malvern Town Council said plans to build the new state-of-the-art Worcester Woods retail complex may carry damaging long-term effects to the Malvern Shopping Park on Roman Way.
Land Securities has submitted a planning application to Worcester City Council for a new £40million retail park on land to the south of Newtown Road.
Major stores signed up to the project include John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Next and Marks and Spencer, with the latter two also having stores at Malvern Shopping Park.
According to Land Securities, the proposed development will ‘create a new home and lifestyle destination offering shoppers in Worcester a comprehensive range of goods for the home and garden’ and would create up to 1,000 jobs.
The city council is currently carrying out its own consultation on the plans.
But with major chains already signed up, Malvern Town councillors fear the building of the development could lead to a situation where Malvern residents would travel to Worcester to do their shopping instead of going to Malvern’s own shopping park. They agreed at the meeting to object to the plans.
Coun Clive Smith, who has long called for the issue to be discussed, said: “I think we should object to this.
“This could impact badly on the retail vitality of Malvern. You never know where the impact is going to come. This is big and the people of Malvern will go it.
Coun Cynthia Palmer, who is Malvern’s deputy Mayor, said: “I would not like to see the vitality of our retail park affected in any way because it’s so important to the town.”
Coun Patrick Mewton added: “If Marks and Spencer opens up there, they’ll close down the one in our retail park.”
However, the councillors’ concerns were expressed on the same week Malvern Shopping Park bosses tabled plans to build a small expansion on the site.
A planning application to build a two-storey retail building next to the Boots store to provide further retail space and 50 extra car parking spaces has been submitted to Malvern Hills District Council.
Andrew Watt from Maze Planning Solutions, who is the planning agent company for the shopping park said in a supporting letter for the expansion: “The development will have a positive impact by enabling investment in new retail facilities to serve Malvern, aiding local expenditure retention.
“It will also support local job creation.”
