Plans for new retail park in south west Wales given go ahead

Richard Youle – Local democracy reporter

Plans for a new retail park in south west Wales which could create more than 100 jobs have been given the go-ahead.

The development off Foundry Road in Ammanford will consist of two large retail stores and two fast food units.

Planning documents submitted on behalf of applicants TRJ Ltd in 2022 said three of the four occupants would be food retailer Aldi, discount store B&M and Greggs.

The new retail park will take shape at the yard of construction company TRJ Ltd but won’t include its adjacent office.

Design

There’ll be 216 parking spaces for the two large stores and 60 spaces for the two fast food outlets, and new greenery planted.

Access will be via a new Foundry Road roundabout, and there’ll be a shared-use path linking Betws Park to the south.

A design and access statement on behalf of TRJ said the scheme would create 105 full and part-time jobs.

“The proposed development is considered to encourage investment in the local community and result in the production of a vast number of employment opportunities for the local community also,” it said.

Impact

Other businesses operating on Foundry Road include food retailer Lidl, which was critical of a retail needs impact assessment and subsequent retail update submitted on behalf of the applicant and felt the scheme should be refused.

The applicant responded.

Carmarthenshire Council has approved the development although it said a “qualitative need” for the food and retail stores had not been clearly demonstrated.

It has also imposed 27 planning conditions, including a requirement to divert a public sewer and provide a travel plan encouraging more walking and cycling to the site and fewer trips by car.

The planning approval decision said that while the applicant had not clearly demonstrated there was a qualitative need for the food and retail stores, there was evidence the proposal would provide benefits in delivering additional food and non-food discount retail facilities in the area.

It added that there were no “sequentially preferable sites within Ammanford town centre that could accommodate the development” and that “the proposal will provide significant employment and regeneration benefits to the area”.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted TRJ Ltd to ask if it wished to comment on the approval decision.