Store hours plan criticised
Tuesday 27th January 2009, 4:30PM GMT.
Residents today attacked a bid to allow an £18 million DIY store in Shrewsbury to extend its opening times by up to three hours a day, branding the development a “monstrosity”.
The new B&Q, in Featherbed Lane, is due to open on Thursday but is facing criticism over the plans to alter opening times, which has sparked a petition against the proposed changes.
But planning officers at Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council have recommended that the extended opening hours should be approved.
The store is already able to open from 8am until 8pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 10am until 4pm on Sundays.
However, bosses have now applied to open from 7am until 10pm on Mondays to Saturdays, and from 9am until 4pm on Sundays, with the first hour serving as a “browsing hour” to comply with Sunday trading regulations.
A report to the borough council’s development control committee says: “The extended opening hours would not be detrimental to the residential amenity of nearby properties.”
The application has received objections from 19 nearby residents, and Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski has added his support to the protest.
Gina Hughes, who lives with her family near the entrance of the store’s car park, said residents were not happy with plans to extend opening hours.
She said: “It’s a monstrosity. We’re not pleased at all.
“The lorries are quite noisy when they reverse out of the car park and we can hear the noise of the tannoys from inside the shop.
“My children sleep in the front of the house and I’m worried about the noise keeping them awake, and obviously traffic is going to be a problem.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “I can see why Tesco, just over the road, opens for so long because people want to eat, but you won’t want a shed at 10pm.”
Other complaints include concerns over potential noise from delivery vehicles as early as 5am, and light and noise pollution.
A spokeswoman from B&Q said they were waiting to hear the decision of the committee, which will meet on February 3.
By Pam Griffin
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What residents? There are a couple of houses nearby and the residents chose to live adjacent to an industrial & commercial area!
The people of Shrewsbury should welcome this store and the boost to their economy.
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How can one DIY store make featherbed lane an eyesore? Surely the countless car dealerships, tile warehouse, tyre centre, and heavy traffic have made the street one of the least desirable in shrewsbury. Good to see a business opening and employing people for a change. I suggest the residents in question take a walk to the end of their driveways and just have a look at the road they are trying to conserve, bit late I think!
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‘Browsing hour’? What a load of nonsense. Can’t anyone see these greedy desperate retailers are only intent on obliterating the meaning behind the very ‘holidays’ that they cynically feed on. The idea of at least the occasional quiet stress free day is so important for our national mental well being that we can’t afford to let these chains mould society in the way that suits them and their shareholders best.
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your all stupid, its a shop, your going to go there one day and find its closed, and it will be closed because the stupid community didn’t like it when the store wanted longer hours, what about these local stores open 6-10 everyday, you gonna complain about that as well, get a grip!!
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I feel sorry for the residents who live along that road. When they bought there it was not a busy trading estate! Just a car showroom area.
Who is that desperate for a screw that they need to visit a do it yourself shop at ten o clock at night!
Would it be acceptable for Mr Doityourself, your next door neighbour to start drilling your adjoining walls at that time of the night?
What the heck are firms doing using tannoys at that time of night? Is it to drown out the noise of kids playing ghetto blasters that will be drawn like moths to a lamp come the summer evenings?
Sounds like a visit from enviromental health and an ASBO for the tannoy user.
Come on planners use some common sense and courtesy for your residential rate payers.
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I cant see the road being that busy it will make a massive differance to the pople living near the new store after 8pm it will most probably be the odd car not mass tailbacks also the lorrys they are complaining about have been there while it is built that is now finnished and im unsure how the tanoys could be heard already as the store doesnt open untill tomorrow.
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we should welcome and encourage this new store, its a sound business B&Q, its got good environmental policies and employs old people, i like it and it needs to open early and late to suit traders and DIYers who get up early to get cracking on the work, lets stop putting barriers in the way of employment and enterprise and get behind our british firms
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We should welcome the store with i’s investment in Shrewsbury and as mentioned here, at least the late night/early morning traffic would be light.
I would use the store at that time to beat queues/traffic and commotion…. the same as I do Tesco. It’s convenient.
In these dire times lets not shut down the opportunity for employment and having some successful trade in the town.
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What a load of rubbish, welcome B&Q and your new (profitable?) hours.
Dave… if you choose to live “by” a car showroom area and are shortsighted enough to think it’ll stay there forever, then you really are silly. It’s like living next to a corner shop and thinking it’ll never become a chippy!
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NIMBYs blocking business, they wouldnt stand for this in the states where they value business and the free market
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What about the staff who will have to work these hours, I work at a nearby store until 8pm and on sundays, I feel family life is being eroded
by work. Also there is only a certain amount of money people have in their pockets.
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D Bradley the staff who work these hours have the choice in the respect of taking the job in the first place, there are a lot of yongsters that would love to work the late shift say 6-10 as they can do it after college as i did many years ago also mothers as there partners are back from work and can put the children to bed etc while they go to work for a few hours which helps them socialise (nto saying they would work every night either just a couple a week)
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you socialists trying to stop business, they need to open more for the good of the economy, if they werent strangled by EU and pointless ‘green’ regulations it would be easier too
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it must be hell to live there with the trafic now, park and ride, tesco and now B&Q, there must be literally thousands of cars per hour, it wont be long before someone gets killed sadly
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What difference would it really make? The main road directly infront of the store is busy leading up to shrewsbury town center and its only a few meters to untill you are into the car park. Being long term unemployed and applying 4 times for this b&q!! id of worked any hours given to me but no not even a phonecall.
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