New Port Erin Co-Op granted planning approval 

It will be built on the site of the former funeral directors and florists

Planning permission has been granted for a new supermarket in Port Erin.

Co-Op will be able to develop on the site of the former funeral directors and florists on Station Road.

The plans also include provision for six tourist accommodation apartments and associated car parking.

The plans were initially recommended for refusal due to it being outside the ‘retail area’ of Port Erin, there being no retail impact assessment and no audit of other available sites.

Clerk of Port Erin Commissioners Jason Roberts said the local authority would support the application provided issues relating to highway matters were resolved.

He added that the area is within the proposed 20mph zone, and the commissioners have been asking for double yellow lines in the area for a while.

Mr Roberts also told the committee that the properties had been vacant for 15-20 years.

A local resident spoke out against the application and said it wasn’t in the right location and that there are other units available in the village to be developed.

He added that it could also affect the businesses on station road and make the parking situation around the area worse.

Mark Pearce, acting on behalf of the developer, said that a retail impact assessment wasn’t carried out due to the site being less than 500 square meters.

He added that the other retail stores on Station Road have a different offering, and its only direct competition would be Tesco.

Committee member Sam Skelton said the developers ‘missed a trick’ by not including a retail impact assessment, ‘despite the criteria’ as well as including alternative sites.

Chair Rob Callister said he was in support of the application based on the views of the commissioners and its local knowledge.

Whilst fellow committee member Peter Young said he had a number of concerns about the application, including its distance from the rest of the retail units in town as well as the visual impact of the building.

The committee voted five votes to two in favour of the application.