Pollet Food Hall to close for a year and re-open as Morrison's

Wednesday 27 February 2019

The last business currently in operation within the ground floor area of Weighbridge House will re-open in April 2020 as a Morrison's Daily store, but no details have been given as to the size of the business.

A day after it emerged that the White Hart was to close this weekend it was revealed the Food Hall in Le Pollet will also close at the end of April.

In 2015 planning permission was requested for Weighbridge House to be turned into one large retail space.

That includes the premises formerly occupied by Miss Nob clothes shop, Hansen's Grab n Go sandwich bar and Barbados nightclub which have all closed recently. The White Hart will close its doors this weekend and the Food Hall will close at the end of April. 

A spokesperson from SandpiperCI was unable to confirm whether the store would take up more than one unit as currently housed by the Food Hall, he said:

"Le Pollet Food Hall will close at the end of April and reopen after refurbishment a year later as a Morrisons Daily store.”

Two other Food Hall stores at L'islet and St Peter's Village were rebranded as Morrison's beginning in October last year. 

Pictured: Morrison's Daily at L'islet. 

The offices above Weighbridge House wouldn't be affected by any redevelopment work as the permission granted in 2016 was for a two storey retail space incorporating the ground floor space and basement space where the nightclub used to be.

That planning permission has run out though so it is currently unclear if or when any work could start.

When the permission was granted, in January 2016, it was valid for three years - meaning it expired in January 2019. When Express asked the Development and Planning Authority what that meant a few weeks ago, we were told 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," a spokesman for the DPA said. 

Pictured: The planning permission granted in January 2016 expired in January 2019. 

While the future of Weighbridge House is unclear, the pub's future is also uncertain. The managers have posted on Facebook to say it will be closing this Saturday "for the last time for the foreseeable future ... but hopefully will return who knows?!"

The taxi rank at the Weighbridge to the north of Le Pollet has also been under suspicion with rumours circulating that it may be moved to make way for a car park.

A Traffic and Highway Services spokesman said there are no plans to do that at present. 

"There are no current plans to review taxi service provision at Le Pollet Rank and no one has approached Traffic and Highway Services to request consideration of revised public parking in the vicinity of Le Pollet."