Torquay gateway upgrade

Aldi, coffee and fast food shop planned for Kerswell Gardens

Plans for a new Aldi, Costa Coffee and a fast food restaurant at ‘the gateway to Torquay’ have been unveiled.

The supermarket chain this week submitted plans for a new supermarket to be built on the edge of the town, saying that in light of the current economic uncertainty, the investment is more important than ever.

The scheme for Kerswell Gardens would see the demolition of the existing buildings on the existing Devon Garden Machinery on Newton Road, in Kingkerswell, right next to the end of the South Devon Highway, and the construction of the discount supermarket, drive-through coffee shop, drive-through fast food restaurant, as well as a replacement retail building for Devon Garden Machinery.

A statement with the application was the redevelopment will re-invigorate an under-developed site, help maintain continued investment and jobs within the local area, that the provision of a discount food store and food outlets will provide valuable services to the local community, and open up opportunity for future development to the North of the site.

It adds: “It is considered, there is considerable qualitative need for a new discount food store to serve the Torquay and Kingskerswell areas. It will lead to significant economic benefits, including the creation of up to 119 jobs, and significant capital investment in Torquay in light of the current economic uncertainty, and following the Covid-19 pandemic, this investment is now of greater importance to Torquay, its residents and visitors.

“The proposal will bring an unsightly parcel of land, located at an important gateway site into Torquay back into economically viable use. The proposal will not have any significant adverse impacts upon existing defined retail centres, and there are no sequentially preferable sites, upon which the proposal, could be located. There is also a clear demand for an Audi store in the locality.”

It continues: “The proposal will enhance the discount food store provision in the area, and assist in retaining expenditure in the locality, which will help reduce the need to travel, therefore having sustainability benefits.

“The proposed Audi will result in considerable economic benefits for the local area with up to 40 local jobs being created at the store, further economic benefits will be delivered through the drive-thru Costa Coffee Shop, the fast food restaurant, alongside the replacement retail building for Devin garden machinery. In total, the proposed development will support 119 full-time equivalent jobs.

“The application site is considered to be the most sequentially preferable and as the newest Aldi stores are in Newton Abbot and painting, so it will help retain expenditure, which is currently going elsewhere.”

A new single-storey Aldi food store with associated customer parking is proposed in the lower half of the site, and the scheme will provide 106 car parking spaces.

The fast food outlet – an occupier of which is not named – would consist of a unit that would also facilitate drive-thru transactions as well as space for a restaurant, kitchen and back of house use.

The coffee shop – for which Costa Coffee is named – would be a single storey standalone coffee shop with a drive-thru facility.

A two-storey workshop/showroom and repair bay building for Devon Garden Machinery, a garden, estate and turf maintenance machinery retailer and servicer, as well as an area of land reserved for external storage, would also be created.

Access and egress will be created from the existing access route from Torquay Road, which would be the first phase of works to take place.

Although referred to as a new Aldi for Torquay, the site falls within the boundary of Teignbridge District Council, and their planning department will determine the fate of the application at a later date.