Current Issues
Cottages, Cromer Road
Sheringham v Tesco
The largest single development currently in the pipeline and affecting the area is the proposed development of a Tesco store on the seaward side of the Cromer Road (A149), close to the Holway Road (A1082) roundabout.
We have strongly opposed this development for several reasons. It would seriously threaten the attractive mix of smaller shops which give Sheringham town centre its special character. The Cromer Road and adjacent roads are already heavily congested during the holiday season and this development would make the congestion far worse. Distinctive period buildings would be demolished. The fire station would be moved over the road from its present position and would be subject to the increased traffic congestion. Substitute housing would be constructed on an attractive site which has been used as allotments for many years and would involve the construction of an access road of totally unsuitable appearance on common land. The Community Centre would be moved further out of town giving access problems. The development is also adjacent to two churches and sheltered housing.
For all these reasons the Preservation Society and a considerable proportion of the population strongly opposed the development, although there were others in the town who supported it, on the grounds that the current food store floor space is inadequate.
The progress of Tesco's planning applications has been a long and confusing. In early 2005, the proposals were decisively rejected by the district council's western area planning committee, but on being put to the combined committee this decision was reversed. There then followed a review of the requirement for future expansion in retail provision throughout North Norfolk, an independent survey was commissioned by the district council and carried out by consultants DTZ. As a result of this survey, which ranked Tesco's Sheringham plans as the least desirable of the plans in the pipeline, and also as a result of changes in government guidance on out-of-town supermarkets, the issue was reconsidered by the council's joint planning committee. On this occasion, the committee decisively rejected Tesco's application by the overwhelming margin of twenty votes to nil, with one abstention
Tesco's planning application has been closely tied up with a planning application by Budgens for a much smaller store selling only grocery items. The proposed Budgens site, on former railway land near the town's largest car park, has planning permission (granted on appeal by a government inspector) but no progress was being made in taking this forward, mainly because of delays over release of land owned by the district council. Soon after the decisive rejection of Tesco's application in 2005, it was revealed that a secret agreement had been entered into between the council and Tesco. This agreement had been signed by former officers of the council a few days after the most recent district council elections and before the new council had fully taken control.
Following an internal investigation, it was not clear how much councillors knew about it, but councillors seemed to take the line that despite its many peculiarities, the agreement was binding on the council and excluded all other supermarket developments in Sheringham apart from Tesco's. The discovery of the agreement temporarily caught the council off-guard and they seemed to have felt that their hands were now tied and that they had little alternative but to accept the Tesco application. At this point progress on the application ceased. Tesco appealed against the non-determination of its application and also at that time prepared to put in another similar planning application, at the request of the council.
The Council is currently preparing its Local Development Framework (LDF), which will guide planning decisions in North Norfolk for many years to come. The LDF has reached a late stage but is not yet adopted; however its proposals obviously carry considerable authority. One of its main recommendations for Sheringham is that any supermarket built here should be restricted to 750 sq m in area, which would rule out a store of the size proposed by Tesco. The thinking behind the LDF proposal, which is based on the council's leisure and retail survey, is that Sheringham is a secondary settlement with little capacity for future expansion and that future growth should be concentrated in Cromer and to a lesser extent Holt; the three towns are seen as an interdependent cluster.
Tesco put in its revised planning application in February 2007. This application went before the West Area planning committee on Friday 2nd November. All of Sheringham's district councillors spoke against the application and it was turned down unanimously. However, it was also decided that the issue should be debated again, by the Joint (West and East) planning committee on 22nd November. This meeting subsequently took place and once more councillors voted unanimously against the application, as on the previous occasion, against the recommendations of the planning officers. This makes two separate occasions, approximately two years apart, when the joint planning committee has unanimously voted to refuse planning permission to Tesco. Tesco decided to appeal. The Council voted to set aside £200,000 to fight the case on appeal, and a further contingency in case costs are awarded against the Council.
The enquiry conducted by Government Inspector Christina Downes concluded on 16th July after ten full days of formal business at the council offices in Cromer and a public meeting held in Sheringham. The public meeting was attended by at least 200 residents, showing the strength of feeling on the issue. The meeting was skilfully handled by the inspector, with a wide range of points being made from the floor in an orderly manner with the minimum of unnecessary repetition - an excellent example of democracy in action. The overwhelming majority of those who spoke were opposed to Tesco's proposals. Every major concern was covered and it was clear that virtually everyone who spoke was an "ordinary" resident, not a representative of a pressure group.
The main concerns remain the size and location of the store, resulting in traffic congestion and the impact on the town centre with a knock-on effect on the town's ability to attract visitors. The emerging Local Development Framework, with its recommendation for a store half the size of that proposed by Tesco was a major issue for Councillors, who had unanimously rejected the proposals, thus giving rise to the appeal. Many residents at the public meeting who had lived before moving to Sheringham in towns where Tesco had opened a large store, spoke of the massive impact on existing businesses and virtual death of the town centre. Even among those who support Tesco there are a substantial number who have misgivings about the location.
On 8th September the inspector announced that she had rejected Tesco's appeal (see News, Home Page).
Tesco has now caused gloom among its opponents by using its financial muscle to enter an appeal against the decision (see News, Home Page).
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Sheringham Plus
Following the use of funds from Europe and elsewhere in a regeneration programme in Cromer, a similar process has taken place in Sheringham. This provided the opportunity for valuable initiatives to be funded. The Preservation Society, as a body and through individual members, participated in this process.
Many projects have now been completed. The largest has been the renovation of Oddfellows Hall on Lifeboat Plain, originally built to house Sheringham's first RNLI lifeboat, the Duncan, to form an attractive community facility consisting of meetings rooms and exhibition space. The Sheringham Trails (walks through Beeston Common, Sheringham Park and along the Coast Path) have been promoted and the town-centre Heritage Trail has been launched. The Preservation Society supplied the blue plaques which accompany this trail. An initiative called "Experience Sheringham" is also promoting the town, and "What's On" and "Where to Stay" publications have been produced.
Funding for Sheringham Plus is due to run out at the end of 2008. A new community partnership taking in neighbouring parishes is now being prepared. The name of this body is still to be decided.
The Sheringham Plus website carries further information and can be reached at www.sheringhamplus.co.uk.
Experience Sheringham is at www.experiencesheringham.co.uk.