New Sainsbury’s is ‘under review’

MULTI-MILLION-POUND plans to bring a large Sainsbury’s store to South Wales are “under review”, the company has said.

The plans, originally intended to bring a £200m “town centre” development to Talbot Green, were given outline planning permission in December 2014 for over 300,000sq ft of buildings including cinemas, cafes and restaurants, with the supermarket to be the retail anchor.

But since then, the development appears to have slowed down, and many are now wondering whether plans for the shop, and other services earmarked for the area, will ever come off.

When we approached Sainsbury’s, the company said: “All of our planned schemes, including Talbot Green, are under review. We’ll update when we’re able.”

We then asked the company to elaborate about why the schemes are under review and how many schemes are in the pipeline, but it failed to respond. There has been quite a mixed response on social media to the lull in activity on site, with some giving suggestions for things they would rather see built than a new Sainsbury’s.

Caroline Thomas wrote: “Leisure facilities would be good. So many shops already! When one shopping area is built the surrounding ones get laid to waste. Look at Cardiff centre – the Capitol shopping site [Capitol Shopping Centre] is a ghost town.

“Do something that will enhance people’s leisure time like cinema, bowling alley, walking areas, duck ponds etc.”

Sylvia Hughes-Williams said: “I’d like a nature reserve and leisure park with a lake. There’s nothing like that in the area. Nowhere to go for a picnic lunch or to sit away from the shops and traffic. We have enough shops and places to eat.”

Others, including Denise Anstree, defended the retailer. She said: “Really hoping it’s still going to happen and still want a Sainsbury’s store here.”

The plans for Sainsbury’s are part of the bigger “town centre” development, which would also see a new department store, multiple retail units, a cinema, hotel, offices, civic use, houses, cafes and restaurants built.

In a letter received by a nearby resident in October last year, Scarborough Group – one of the developers working on the wider site and part of the Talbot Green Development Ltd venture – said: “The remainder of the land belongs to us and we will be building the town centre offer to complement the Sainsbury’s in due course.”