In Portwood, Stockport, Tesco built a Tesco Extra hypermarket which failed to comply with planning conditions. At 120,000 sq ft, the store was 20 per cent larger than the size limit that Stockport Borough Council had imposed on it when it granted planning permission.
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To be fair to the Council on this one. They did punish Tesco for this and a significant chunk of the Portwood building lies idle. Just have a look the next time you are in there - there is a chunk of retail area down the side near the front door which is not being used after Stockport Council realised what had happened and applied the relevant enforcement action.
There is a long way to go before a store could be built anyway and its not as easy as you might think, but if the demand is there, I have no doubt that Marple is a candidate for a store. Afterall 30,000+ residents (if you include the outlying settlements) being served by a succession of small co-ops is ripe for something.
I also think that the concerns re: traffic chaos are probably completely overblown, as with a bit if creativity and spending (which the Council could easily extract from any developer through the planning system - and in my experience Stockport Council are one of the better North West Councils for achieving this) I'm sure a solution could be delivered.
I'm no supporter of any new store (if indeed there is any liklihood of one being promoted) but if proposals do come forward, one has to be rationale when reviewing things. The planning system is not there to support the retention of the status quo comewhat may, but rather seeks to decide whether a proposed land use is reasonable for the location proposed. If it is, then planning permission will be granted, with conditions controlling things. If its not then the application will be refused. Emotion plays no part in the long run, as even if you can 'get at' your local council to oppose matters, any impartial government inspector would simpy overturn any such decision made for political reasons at appeal.
