Asda is preparing to submit a planning application for a 7,432 sq m (80,000 sq ft) superstore on the former PowerGen site, Haslucks Green Road, Shirley, West Midlands. The proposals would involve the demolition of 9,290 sq m (100,000 sq ft) of existing offices.
The grocery chain’s application faces a series of hurdles. Solihull council is hesitating to allow a change of use from offices to retail and is not prepared to renegotiate the site’s ground lease on terms acceptable to Asda. In December 1995, Asda bought the leasehold on the six-acre site from PowerGen for a rumoured £6m.
The supermarket proposals are proving controversial with local retailers and councillors, who fear the impact of such a large retail development on Shirley town centre’s existing trading patterns.
EGi News 17/04/96
