Sainsbury's in Yeovil: 'No comment' from developers after Bunford Park planning application rejected

The developers behind plans for a new out-of-town Sainsbury's in Yeovil have said they will not comment after a planning application was rejected.

Abbey Manor Group and Sainsbury’s submitted proposals in June 2017 for a new business and industrial mega-complex in the Bunford area of Yeovil, off the A3088.

The plans include a 55,000 sq.ft. Sainsbury’s store, customer car park, petrol station, and large business park with multiple units.

Despite the proposals also featuring more than £1 million worth of contributions to Yeovil town centre, many local businesses and the local chamber of commerce objected to the plans amid fears of an adverse effect on town centre.

Artist's impression of the proposed Sainsbury's store at the Bunford development

In June 2019, the proposals were rejected by South Somerset District Council, with councillors again worried about how the town centre would fare with more out-of-town competition.

When approached by Somerset Live today (August 6) for a comment on the planning decision, a spokesman for Abbey Manor Group said, "no comment".

It is currently unknown whether the local developer, based off Preston Road in Yeovil, will appeal to the council's decision to reject the proposals.

The proposal is for a 55,000 sq.ft. supermarket including a café, customer car park and petrol station, as well as a large business park with multiple business units on the outskirts of Yeovil

Council rejects proposals due to potential “significant adverse effect on the town centre”

South Somerset district councillors voted nine to four to reject the plans at a planning meeting on Tuesday, June 25.

Planning officer Marc Dorfman recommended the proposal be refused, saying a GVA study commissioned by the council found that the Bunford Park development would have a “significant adverse effect on the town centre”.

He said the study found that roughly six to eight per cent of the money currently spent in the town centre could be drawn away by this development.

However, developers, Abbey Manor Group (AMG), argued that the trade draw would only be as little as two per cent.

President of the Yeovil Chamber of Trade and Commerce, David Woan, also voiced his opposition to the plans.

He said: “Retailers I have recently spoken to in the nearby trading estate and the town centre oppose these plans.

“They believe the arrival of a large new store on the outskirts of the town will significantly impact their business models.”

Judith Gannon, from AMG, argued that Bunford Park would “put Yeovil back on the map”.

She claimed that for Yeovil to compete with nearby large business parks at Poundbury, the A303 at Mere, Bridgwater Gateway, Cathedral Park in Wells and the planned Nexus 25 at Taunton, it needs a modern and large business park like Bunford Park.

Former charity shop offered as 'donation'

As part of the proposals, Abbey Manor Group put together a package of measures it believed would mitigate the impact of the proposed out-of-town supermarket on the centre, including more than one million pounds of funding to improve the town centre, and the "donation" of a Middle Street shop.

The developer offered to gift the former St Margaret's Hospice charity shop, which it currently owns, to SSDC to assist with its ongoing Yeovil Refresh regeneration project.

The Lower Middle Street shop is currently empty, and is in a sorry state of repair despite its prominent position in the centre of Yeovil.

As well as the shop, the proposals also featured several other contributions to the Yeovil Refresh project, including:

Contribution to bus services to better connect the business park and foodstore to Yeovil Town Centre - £140,000
Contribution towards junction design for Reckleford/Market Street - £25,000
Community Infrastructure Levy, which can be directed to infrastructure projects in the town centre - £844,000
Provision of two bus stops on Bunford Lane - £50,000

Take a look at a recap of the Yeovil Sainsbury's saga below.

Time Line

Sainsbury's saga - Timeline recap of events

June 2017
The original application for the development off Bunford Lane was submitted by Sainsbury's and The Abbey Manor group, with a decision originally expected to be made in Autumn 2017. This decision never transpired.
February 2018
In early 2018, SSDC released its Yeovil Refresh "vision" for the town centre, including plans showing a supermarket on the former cattle market site.
Spring 2018
It was then expected that a decision on the Bunford site was to be made in Spring 2018 but this was not forthcoming.
July 2018
The Quedam Centre announced its purchase of the former cattle market and its plans to redevelop the site, with support from local businesses wanting a "town centre anchor" supermarket at the site.
September 2018
Amended plans were then submitted for the out-of-town Bunford site in early September 2018, including more than £100,000 in grants for SSDC's Yeovil Refresh project.
October 2018
Meanwhile, plans for a smaller Aldi store off the A30 Sherborne Road, near to the town centre, were approved by SSDC.
November 2018
Abbey Manor Group again revised its Bunford Park proposal, bringing forward the construction of 14 business units in the plans.
March 2019
Abbey Manor Group once again revised its Bunford Park proposal, and added a new package of mitigation measures featuring more one million pounds in funding for various Yeovil Refresh related projects and the "donation" of the former St. Margaret's Hospice charity shop on Lower Middle Street.
June 2019
South Somerset district councillors voted 9-4 to reject the plans at a planning meeting on Tuesday, June 25. Planning officer Marc Dorfman recommended the proposal be refused, saying a GVA study commissioned by the council found that roughly 6 to 8 per cent of the money currently spent in the town centre could be drawn away by this development.

Background to Bunford Park Sainsbury's application

What is the Bunford Park application?

Abbey Manor Group and Sainsbury’s submitted plans to SSDC in June 2017 for a new business and industrial space, including a Sainsbury’s store on a site in the Bundford area of Yeovil, off the A3088.

The proposal is for a 55,000 sq.ft. supermarket including a café, customer car park and petrol station, as well as a large business park with multiple business units.

Plans for a business park at Bunford Park were previously granted outline planning permission in 2011 from SSDC.

However, this latest application is for a larger site.

Need for another town centre supermarket?

It is understood that SSDC is keen for a new supermarket to move into the former cattle market site in the town centre, off the A30 Reckleford, in line with its Yeovil Refresh project plans, and the local chamber of commerce has also thrown its weight behind this idea .

Both the council and local businesses have said they would like to see another "town centre anchor" in the form of a supermarket on the 3.7 acre site.

The Quedam Centre, which already operates an existing retail centre on Vicarage Walk in Yeovil, confirmed its purchase of the large site in July this year after the space had stood derelict for many years.

However, Sainsbury's has already looked into this site in the past and deemed it unviable for a number of reasons, notably its steep incline.

Sainsbury's developers do not want a town centre site

In amended plans submitted to the council on September 4, 2018, Abbey Manor Group and Sainsbury's reiterated that they are not interested in a new store within Yeovil's town centre.

In the documents, Yeovil town centre is described as diverse, and already possessing numerous "anchor" stores including Wilko, WH Smith, New Look, Argos and Boots.

It states that the town centre is already well-represented by convenience stores, including a Tesco Extra superstore, M&S Foodhall, Farmfoods and Iceland.

It also states that the town centre’s "number of vacant units has decreased in the last two years, albeit that it remains above the national average position".