Tesco store gets rejected in Sheringham

North Norfolk District Council’s Combined Development Control Committee has voted to approve an application by the Greenhouse Community Project for a retail store on Weybourne Road at Sheringham, and to turn down an application by Tesco for a site on Cromer Road, subject to legal advice.

The decision follows a four-hour meeting, during which councillors discussed an 80-page report detailing the two applications, and 18 members of the public contributed a wide range of diverging views. The decision was made on a vote of 11 in favour, six against.

Councillor Virginia Gay, Leader of North Norfolk District Council and Cabinet Member for Planning, said: “There has been a long and impassioned debate. People have expressed themselves very coherently, and after weighing all the issues, the committee has decided it wishes to refuse the Cromer Road application and approve the Weybourne Road plan.

“However the decision raises a number of legal issues so the committee agreed that it needs to be referred to a specialist planning lawyer to ensure it is a sound decision, in planning terms.”

In technical terms, the committee gave delegated authority for officers to approve the Greenhouse Community Project and reject the Tesco plan, provided this legal advice confirms that the decision is sound.