Narberth development will include supermarket (From Western Telegraph)

Co-op could create 68 new jobs in Narberth

8:50am Thursday 10th December 2009 in County News

A £1.5million redevelopment scheme for a town centre site in Narberth is to include a new supermarket, its developers have confirmed this week.

Joint venture partners Actoris and Waterstone Estates, the new owners of the former Brains Brewery depot in Spring Gardens, are about to submit a detailed planning application for the two-acre site.

A pre-planning application for a 10,000 square metre development, including the shop and car parking space, has already been received by Pembrokeshire County Council.

It is understood that if the plan goes ahead, the main tenant of the site would be the The Co-operative Group.  A formal request has been made to the council's planning department to hold talks before the detailed plans go in.

Said Matt Bryant at Actoris: "We will be investing in the region of £1.5million into the regeneration of the brownfield site. Added Simon Jehu of Waterstone Estates: "We intend making a full detailed planning application within the next few weeks."

Narberth's county councillor Wynne Evans said this week that a number of major retailers had been looking at the site, but it was the Co-op that had emerged as the front runner.

Councillor Evans confirmed that Pembrokeshire County Council's director of development, Dr Steven Jones, had contacted him to say that the pre-planning application had been received by the authority.

"I have had assurances that up to 38 full-time and 30 part-time jobs will be created. This is a major employment boost for the local economy, that will be welcomed by all. "The Co-op are renowed for using many local suppliers that they source in the region; again a huge boost for local produce providers."

He added that the store would provide around 40 two-hour parking spaces  which would allow shoppers to use the store and then go to the main shopping areas of Narberth.

However, no official confirmation of the application has been given by either Pembrokeshire County Council or the Co-op.

A council spokesman told the Western Telegraph: "It is our policy to treat all pre-application enquiries as confidential, because they may be commercially sensitive."

And a spokeswoman for The Co-opeative Group commented: "We are always looking at opportunities to grow our business; however, we have no agreements in place to purchase a property in Narberth."