Store bids to begin work early on new extension

BOSSES at Sainsbury’s in Tadley want to start work on a new extension before drainage problems are sorted out.

The company is seeking to vary a condition of its planning permission that would allow it to start building on the understanding it does not open or operate the new space until the chronic problems are resolved.

Last year, managers working on behalf of the store in Mulfords Hill, Tadley, successfully applied to the planning authority – Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council – to build a single-storey extension, new entrances, three new retail units and extra parking spaces. The approved plan also includes relocating the recycling store and changing landscaping and access points.

The application was approved in December, but Sainsbury’s has now applied to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to vary a condition relating to the discharge of foul and surface water.

Andy Weaver, spokesman for Sainsbury’s, said: “The revised wording of condition 30 would allow Sainsbury’s to commence work on the construction of the store extension but, ensures that it would not be opened or operated prior to Thames Water undertaking improvements to the drainage system in Bowmonts Road, Tadley.”

He said the application follows consultation with Thames Water on the wording of the condition and added that Sainsbury’s is not in a position to estimate when extension work will begin or be completed.

In a letter attached to the application, Christopher Ofori, from developer services at Thames Water Utilities, said the “variation will be acceptable to Thames Water”.

Considering the application at Tadley Town Council’s highways and planning committee, town council chairman Councillor Avril Burdett said: “We still have concerns and don’t feel comfortable, but we will be guided by the professional opinion of Thames Water.”