Northdown Service Station, on Maidstone Road near Charing in Kent, is to be bulldozed to make way for a new shop – but no fuelling facilities.
Permission for the development was granted to the owners of the site by Ashford Borough Council – with the Coop named in their documentation. However, a Coop spokesperson said no decision had been made on their part as yet.
The redevelopment includes the erection of a circa 4,500sq ft building for retail use with circa 2,500sq ft of sales floor space and 2,000sq ft of back-office space. To the rear of the store would be 21 parking spaces including disability spaces and cycle parking.
A Retail Impact Assessment found that the Coop’ would not adversely affect existing retailers, including a Londis store in the village, as it did not offer the ‘scale and range of a supermarket’.
The nearest petrol station to the site is a very busy BP, a few miles north towards Maidstone.
