![]() We are now considering options for the remaining two acres of our ownership for retail use, the new Sainsbury’s will deliver the intention of the Plan, and the long-standing local desire, to have a high-quality, modern supermarket on the site. Delivery vehicles will be separated from customers, through a separate service access off the main A509 Warrington Road. The 110 space car park will be access off Lavendon Road. It comprises an impressive glazed frontage along with a slick mono-pitch style roof. The store is designed to best fit on the site at the prominent roundabout location. Construction commenced in January, and I anticipate that we will complete the store to enable opening in Autumn 2019. I have now appointed Parkway Construction, a local Milton Keynes construction company, to build the supermarket. Arising from this, Milton Keynes made no objection to the impact of the scheme on Olney Town centre and granted planning permission for the application. As a result of staying in the town for such trips, people are more likely to make associated “linked trips” to the town centre, which will provide a boost to the town overall. Shoppers will, therefore, have a convenient supermarket for their weekly needs, and will no longer need to spend time travelling further afield for their food shopping. Last year we, therefore, submitted a planning application for this reduced size supermarket to both address MK planners concerns and also reflect operator requirements. Neither Sainsbury’s, nor any of the other supermarket operators, were proposing a petrol-filling staion. In my view, it will be of a suitable size and scale to meet the needs of residents of Olney and surrounding villages. In addition, Sainsbury’s were prepared to commit to the largest store of any operators at 17,500 square feet. We felt that Sainsbury’s understand the town well and has a comprehensive, high-quality retail offer. After marketing and discussions with a whole range of food store operators, Saisbury’s was selected as our preferred retailer. This was around the time that the Olney Neighbourhood Plan was adopted, allocating the site for retail use and possibly a petrol filling station. We acquired the Lavendon Road site in June 2017. ![]() My company, Angle Property, is a locally based Buckinghamshire property development company. The message from Milton Keynes Council, and from Sainsbury’s themselves, was that a store of the size proposed in 2014 is too large to serve Olney. Arising from this, all supermarket operators reviewed the size of the stores that they require, and the operational efficiency of them, this resulted in them moving away from the larger stores that they previously preferred. At the same time, shopping patterns began changing as shoppers started making an increasing proportion of purchases online. Despite widespread public support for that scheme, Milton Keynes Council refused planning permission for it in 2016 – in part due to concerns that the size of it would be too harmful to the “health” of the town centre. Readers may recall that previously a large supermarket and petrol filling station on the site was proposed and a planning application submitted by Sainsbury’s in 2014. The store is scheduled to open in the autumn and will be operated by Sainsbury’s. I am delighted to confirm that, following the grant of planning permission last autumn, construction has now begun on the long-awaited supermarket at the corner of Lavendon Road and Warrington Road, Olney. Tony Williamson, Director of Angle Property, spoke with Phone Box Magazine to show their plans within the town of Olney.
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