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'Compelling case' for allowing Stoke Mandeville ASDA store
An appeal to reverse a decision to turn down proposals for an ASDA store at Stoke Mandeville Hospital began on Tuesday.
Aylesbury Vale District Council refused the supermarket giant planning permission in March, ruling that the store was too big and therefore conflicted with their retail strategy for the town.
They added that the 24-hour shop would cause harm by drawing shoppers away from the town centre.
However, Paul Tucker, speaking on behalf of the scheme's promoters, said the 'evidence points inexorably to the allowing of the appeal'.
He told inspector David Wildsmith: "Taken together with the current distribution of large supermarkets and superstores in Aylesbury and the paucity of local convenience retail provision in south Aylesbury, there is a compelling case for the proposed development."
He added the store 'is very much smaller than the two Tesco's and the Morrison's supermarket in town'.
"It will manifestly not draw significant residential trade from a wider area than south Aylesbury – indeed to suggest otherwise betrays either a misunderstanding of convenience shopping activity or an attempt to contrive the case."
Bucks NHS Trust stands to make millions of pounds from selling the land to ASDA if the planning permission is granted.
It says the money will be spent on new facilities at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
However, Hereward Phillpot, representing the council, told Mr Wildsmith that it 'would be entirely inappropriate to permit a development such as this' given the 'underperforming' Aylesbury town centre.
The appeal, at the council's offices in Gatehouse Way, is set to end on Thursday.
Take part in our poll, below, to vote on whether ASDA should be allowed to build the store.
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Weather for Aylesbury
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
