Future uncertain as planning permission appears to expire

Monday 28 January 2019

Three years after a planning application was granted to turn Weighbridge House in Le Pollet into one large retail unit, that permission has expired and it's been difficult to find out what will now be happening to the site.

The site, owned by Spread Trustee Ltd, which includes the White Hart pub, the former nightclub below ground, the Pollet Food Hall, and the former Miss Nob clothes shop as well as offices and other premises, was granted planning permission in 2015 for a change of use from a number of separate units to one large retail space.

Pictured: Permission was grant for redevelopment of Weighbridge House in 2015, but that permission was due to expire over the weekend. 

When that planning permission was granted it was reported that several tenants still had 'years' left on their leases. Today the pub and shop are both open as usual but some of the other business have shut or relocated elsewhere. 

Pictured: Hansen's Grab n Go has moved out of this building on the Weighbridge House side of Le Pollet to the opposite side of the road. 

The site stretches from the White Hart Pub run by the Liberation Group to the former Miss Nob clothes shop. Miss Nob and Barbados Beach Club have both been vacated the latter closing its doors suddenly in November 2018 just weeks before the lease was due to expire. 

The unit which housed Miss Nob has been empty for a number of years with no outward sign of any movement inside the shop. 

Pictured: Miss Nob is closed but signs of the former glamorous clothes shop still remain. 

Most of the Food Hall chain stores operated by Sandpiper C.I were turned into Morrison's Local shops last year however the Pollet Food Hall has so far remained as it was. On Friday, Glenn Rankine, the press officer for Sandpiper C.I., said the decision on what happens next was still with the landlord.

"Sandpiper will continue to trade unless they hear otherwise," he said.

The second floor offices and car park spaces have also been listed for sale on Lovells Property site. 

Pictured: Office units advertised on Lovells website inside Weighbridge House. 

Lovells were unable to confirm what is happening with the units it is listing for sale within Weighbridge House, while the Liberation Group, which runs the White Hart pub, was unavailable for comment.

The Development and Planning Authority said that if work had not started within the site by the end of the day on Saturday 26 January, then the planning permission will officially have expired.

If planning permission expires in that way, then a new planning application has to be lodged which will then be considered on its own merit.

Pictured top: Weighbridge House, with some of the current and former tenants: The White Hart pub, Le Pollet Food Hall, the former Barbados Nightclub and the office tenants.