Demolition of the former Homebase unit on Kew Retail Park will begin next month, after years of legal challenges against a new Sainsbury’s ended unsuccessfully.
Demolition of the Homebase unit, and construction of the new Sainsbury’s is expected to take a year.
A spokesperson for Sefton Council said they expect demolition to begin “in the coming weeks.”
Plans for the new store were initially proposed in 2014 but have been regularly opposed by competitors and councillors. An enquiry into the development back in 2015 cost the Council £130,000.
In 2017, planning permission was initially granted for Sainsbury’s to demolish the former Homebase unit on the retail park and build a 60,000sq ft supermarket with an adjoining petrol station. The plans were later revised down to a smaller 50,000sq ft store.
However, work never commenced as planned in 2018 and revised plans for a smaller store were met with legal opposition.
Permission to go ahead with construction was granted by the High Court in December last year, only to be met with an appeal days later.
Sefton Council confirmed to OTS that planning permission had been opposed by two parties.
Gerard Carney of Southport & Windsor Properties LLP – one of the parties who opposed the development, and a former director of Southport Rugby Club said in 2019 that the “application only creates 30 full-time jobs and 170 part-time jobs, with £15m private sector investment.
“In comparison, £7.9m is lost to the town centre each year.”
The creation of any new Sainsbury’s branch at Meols Cop will be subject to the company’s Lord Street store remaining open for five years.
During construction, the unnamed footpath behind Homebase, adjacent to Fine Janes Brook, will also be closed.
OTS News has approached Sefton Council and Sainsbury’s for comment.
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