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Sainsburys for mill site?

Tom Rowley
2/ 4/2008

HOWARD Town Mill could be home to a Sainsburys, it has been revealed.

The supermarket giant has formed a joint venture with Glossop Land and Evans and Reid for a four-phase scheme which will also include flats and leisure outlets.

A planning application is believed to be in the offing.

The mill is already the focus of a £8.5m revamp by B&R Developments Ltd.

In a separate development, councillors have approved extended trading hours for a pub/restaurant that has yet to open.

National operator Barracuda already has permission to open a Smith and Jones outlet on the ground floor of the Howard Town Mill complex, which is being refurbished off Victoria Street in Glossop town centre.

But the company wants to extend the opening hours to 1am — which includes 30 minutes ‘drinking up‘ time — on Thursdays to Saturdays and to 12.30am — also including half-an-hour’s ‘drinking up’ — Sundays to Wednesdays.

High Peak Council planning control manager Andrew Ellis told councillors only one letter of objection — from a resident on Collier Street — had been received, citing possible noise and disturbance in the early hours.

Mr Ellis added that town centre pubs such as the Howard Arms and the Moon and Sixpence have similar extensions, while Harleys night club is open 11pm-3.30am Thursday to Saturday; 11pm-2am Sunday and 11pm-1am Monday-Wednesday. "In that context this application is a reasonable proposition," he said.

Although Barracuda says its outlet will not be a venue for loud music and have no DJs, a future operator could take a different view and still fall within planning rules.

With this concern in mind, Howard Town Councillor Roger Wilkinson called in the application, given the possible future adverse impact on residents near the ex-cotton mill and those who will be occupying flats on the first floor of the refurbished complex.

"There have been problems with this site in the past," Councillor Wilkinson said.

"It’s all right having a respected company (operating the premises), sometimes they are not managed well."