Plans approved for former Crowland garden centre to become car sales and vehicle repair business
A former garden centre will be transformed into a car sales and vehicle repair business after an application was approved by planners.
A proposal for the Wyevale Garden Centre in Crowland had met with some opposition in the town -but has been given the green light by South Holland District Council.
Officers ruled some issues raised by the parish council and the public did not ‘carry material planning weight’.
A report outlining the officers’ verdict said: “The proposal will increase the number of jobs on site from approximately 12 to 80 positions. This will help to provide employment in the local area.”
It adds: “The application will prevent further deterioration of the garden centre building and land and improve security of the existing site.”
The application was lodged by Halcyon Nominees Ltd - with prospective occupier JJ Premium Cars already lined up.
Planning documents state the firm has outgrown its home in Wharf Road Industrial Estate in Peterborough and wants to take on the Postland Road location.
Planning documents submitted with the application suggest the firm would restore, clean and paint used cars for sale - requiring a spray booth, repair and cleaning workshop as well as warehouse space and external yards for storage.
It also proposes to carry out MOTs, but says this forms a smaller proportion of the work on the site - with sales being the primary function.
Coun Nigel Pepper said: “I gauge the general consensus within Crowland is that the site could have been put to a better use, however it will be good to see the site and the main larger building brought back into use after standing empty for such a long time.”
The documents say that Wyevale shut in 2019 with ‘limited demand for a replacement garden centre’.
It says the owners of the Crowland Caravans and Camping business is also looking to leave its part of the site.
Permission was granted in 2019 to use the site for ‘business storage and distribution’ but plans suggest there was ‘limited demand’ for this.
