PLANS for a major hotel and drive-thru cafe complex on the edge of Welshpool have been withdrawn for a second time amid concerns from the Welsh Government over the impact of the development on local traffic.
An application for the £7.5 million 40-bedroom hotel, drive-through Starbucks coffee shop and Greggs bakery development at Moors Farm, Rhallt Lane to the west of the A483, was lodged last December.
Now, however, the plans have been pulled by developers, with the decision officially lodged with the council on Thursday. It comes after the Welsh Government, in its capacity as a consultee, recommended the application be refused. It is not yet known whether another application will be submitted in the future.
Earlier plans for a larger hotel on the site were withdrawn in 2020 amid concerns over the traffic capacity of the existing island at Buttington Cross.
In its response to the plans, the Welsh Government wrote to Powys Council that it had concerns over the impact of the proposals on traffic at the island, and that the plan could lead to queues in several directions at the key roundabout at the entrance to Welshpool.
The letter read: "I advise that the Welsh Government as highway authority for the A483 trunk road directs that planning permission is not granted at this time as the applicant has provided insufficient information to determine the application.
"Guidance identifies a Ratio of Flow Capacity value of 0.85 or less typically demonstrates that a junction arm is operating within capacity and therefore regular queueing is unlikely.
"Both the opening year (2022) and future year (2032) annual average (pre-Covid) data sets confirm development traffic results in this threshold being breached on multiple arms."
The developer has now been asked to supply new plans to alleviate capacity concerns at the junction, or to provide more information to show that it would not lead to queues at the island.
The proposal would have seen the lime kilns there kept, but the cottage at the site demolished.
Phase one would see the Starbucks and Greggs built first over an eight-month period, while the hotel would take just over a year.
The developers said the work would create 100 construction jobs and 60 long-term full and part-time jobs.
According to a design and access statement the site is at a “pinnacle point” of traffic travelling from Oswestry and Shrewsbury into Wales.
At a meeting in September, as part of a pre-application process, the town council said it believed a new hotel should be located in the town centre, with mayor Alison Davies saying the proposals would "do nothing for the town".
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