Plans for a new community hub with cafe and play space in Spalding town centre look likely to be refused.
Seven months after the application was first made by The Lighthouse Pentecostal Church, the ambitious proposal is against planning policy, says a report.
Members of South Holland District Council’s planning committee are due to discuss the plan for the former Coney’s store at a meeting next Wednesday (July 17).
The empty store will be used for a retail cafe, offices, community meeting place, play space and food bank, if the plans are approved.
But a report to the committee from council planning officers says the loss of a ‘key building’ within the primary shopping area would be detrimental.
“It is considered that the loss of retail and town centre related uses of this building, coupled with the previous losses of nearby buildings to non-retail uses would undermine the vitality and viability of Spalding town centre as a retail and town centre uses-led destination,” the report says.
The report adds that the site is ‘considered to be poorly placed for non-retail and non-town centre uses’ given that it is sited in a primary shopping area.
The application was deferred from a March meeting to June and then deferred again until next week.
