THE director of a convenience store in Stourport has said that the proposed demolition of the shop could leave the community it has served for over 40 years ‘vulnerable’ if a replacement retail site is not found.
A planning application, submitted to Wyre Forest District Council by Community Housing, proposes the demolition of existing ground-floor retail units, including the Select & Save convenience store, first and second-floor flats, and garage blocks at 6 Queens Road in Stourport.
The proposed demolition would make way for 18 affordable homes with a mix of one-bedroom flats and two, three, and four-bedroom houses.
The proposals have been met with opposition from residents and, at the time of writing, more than 140 formal objections have been submitted.
According to Harpal Jagpal, who is the director of the Select & Save store on Queens Road, he ‘cannot understand’ why the demolition of the shop is being progressed when there is no ‘secured replacement’ despite conversations with Community Housing.
He said: “Select & Save has served the Walshes community for over 40 years, and we are not opposed to affordable housing.
“What we cannot understand is why demolition of a successful community shop is being progressed when there is still no secured replacement for us, our staff, and local residents.
“For many years we have tried to work constructively with Community Housing.
“A replacement shop was previously discussed, and in 2019 we worked with their architect on the size and layout of a new store.
“That scheme was later abandoned by Community Housing due to funding.
“In 2021, Community Housing then offered us the opportunity to purchase the existing Queens Road site.
“At a formal meeting, £420,000 was agreed as the price for the whole block.
“We took that opportunity seriously, spent thousands on professional surveys and secured funding.
“Our intention was to invest approximately £200,000 further in bringing the flats and remaining shops up to the required standard.
“However, over the following months, the proposed price increased to nearly £700,000, making the project no longer financially viable for anyone.
“Despite all this uncertainty, we continued investing in Queens Road and spent approximately £80,000 modernising our own store last year alone.
“We employ six local people in addition to myself.
“Some joined as teenagers, one has worked here for over 30 years, and I have been involved with the business since childhood alongside my father.
“This is a second-generation family business with more than 40 years of goodwill and local jobs attached to it.”
As the proposed demolition of the store and the nearby flats and garage blocks progresses, Mr Jagpal says that Community Housing have suggested a replacement retail site in Stourport, but to date nothing has been secured.
Mr Jagpal is now calling for Community Housing to prioritise the procurement of a replacement site for Select & Save.
He said: “We are now being told about proposed replacement retail at Linden Avenue and have again made clear that we are willing to purchase a suitable site.
“However, nothing is secured.
“There is no agreed price, no completed premises and no guarantee that Select & Save will actually be able to relocate there.
“At our meeting in June, Community Housing agreed to obtain a Red Book valuation for the Linden Avenue land based on it having outline planning permission, so that we could establish the proposed purchase price and whether a replacement site would actually be viable.
“Nearly eight weeks later, we are still waiting.
“I emailed again on August 3 requesting an update and, seven days later, have received no response.
“Yet while the proposed replacement site remains at this very preliminary and uncertain stage, Community Housing is already progressing an application to demolish the shop which has successfully served the local residents for more than four decades.
“That is the part we find hardest to understand.
“Surely the replacement retail site should be progressed, proven viable and secured first, before seeking to demolish, which will leave residents and staff vulnerable.
“The strength of community feeling is also clear.
“More than 140 formal objections have been submitted compared with only one comment in support.
“We are not asking anyone to choose between affordable housing and Select & Save.
“We believe both can be achieved.
“We are simply asking that either our existing shop is retained as part of a viable redevelopment or suitable replacement premises are secured and ready for us to move into before Queens Road is demolished.
“After more than 40 years serving this community, we do not believe this to be an unreasonable request.”
In response to Mr Jagpal’s comments, a Community Housing spokesperson said: “Community Housing identified that the existing shops and flats above them had reached the end of their life expectancy and that the cost of continued repair and investment into them was no longer viable for us.
“This was compounded by the fact that a number of the shop units had become vacant and we could not identify prospective new tenants.
“In view of this, we engaged with the remaining shop tenants in 2021 to discuss the future of the shops.
“The potential option of the shopkeepers purchasing the shops and flats as an investment opportunity was discussed, but this did not move forward once the independent RICS valuation had been obtained and shared with the shopkeepers.
“We also identified a piece of land nearby at Linden Avenue that provided the opportunity to be sold to a private developer to create new retail units.
“We engaged with the shopkeepers to ascertain if this was an opportunity they wished to pursue with us, but again this option did not move forward and was probably complicated by 2 of the 3 remaining shopkeepers deciding to relinquish their leases with us.
“However, the option is still on the table, and a recent meeting and communication with the remaining shopkeeper have confirmed this.
“We are also mindful that affordability for the existing shopkeeper may be an issue, and we have therefore offered the shopkeeper the opportunity to be introduced as a prospective tenant as part of the sale of the land to a third party.
“We have agreed to provide the shopkeeper with an updated independent RICS valuation, which has been commissioned, for the land to enable them to decide if they wish to pursue either option.
“We are very aware that the convenience store provides a well-regarded community facility, which is why we are looking to sell the land at Linden Avenue to enable new retail units to be built that continue to provide residents with local shopping facilities.
“We have applied for Planning Approval to develop the Linden Avenue land as retail units with flats above them and to redevelop the Queens Road land as much-needed modern, energy-efficient, affordable residential homes.
“We understand that local residents may be concerned as to the future of the convenience store, and we have held two community events to date to share our plans with local residents and keep them reassured about our intentions.
“We remain committed to working with the community and encourage anyone with concerns to contact us to discuss them.
“We also understand that the shopkeeper will continue to have concerns about the future of their business, and we remain committed to working with them to explore options.”
