Football ground retail redevelopment set for approval

New plans to build a discount supermarket and other retail units on the site of Truro City FC’s Treyew Road ground are set to get the green light when they go before councillors tomorrow (21 December 2017).The White Tigers will finish the 2017/18 season at Treyew road before ground sharing with another club ahead of a planned move to the new Stadium for Cornwall.Helical Retail’s plans to redevelop the ground to provide a convenience store-led scheme, with Lidl UK as the main anchor tenant.Alongside the 22,765 sq ft supermarket, 85,000 sq ft of additional retail space will be created – with Wren Kitchens and Bedrooms among the tenants – as well as 3,000 sq ft for food and drink use.The development will feature 302 parking spaces, of which 110 would be provided for Lidl.It has been estimated that the scheme could support the creation of 180 jobs.The application will go before Cornwall Council’s planning committee on 21 December 2017 and is recommended for approval subject to the signing of a Section 106 agreement. This will secure a 32m payment to the council to support the development of the Stadium for Cornwall.The new scheme replaces an application granted planning consent in 2016 for a predominantly comparison good retail development.The new Lidl is expected to have “much less impact” on the existing retailers in Truro City Centre than the previous schemeThe original scheme was to have paved the way for the Truro City’s move to a new ground at Silverbow. However, earlier this year the club reached an agreement with Cornish Pirates RFC and Truro & Penwith College to share the new Stadium for Cornwall.The pitch and surrounding infrastructure of the new stadium will be designed to meet both National League requirements and those of The Football League.The main stadium will initially have a capacity of 6,000, potentially increasing to 10,000, and is scheduled to complete in time for the 2019/20 season.