Bohemia Village Voice

Kevin Page chairman, Marshall Tufflex, busy explaining

Revised plans for the controversial store at Silverhill were shown at Asda’s Public Information Day at the Conquest Centre, Chichester Road, on 19th June. 
Following feedback from Hastings Borough Council, the site for the proposed store has been moved closer to the junction of Sedlescombe Road South and Battle Road, with the car park behind. The proposed Medical Centre does not appear on the revised plans. Asda say changes are “with the aim of enhancing opportunities for linked trips and spin-off benefits for the shops and services in Silverhill.”
Tom McGarry, Asda’s Property Communications Manager, said, “We obviously have to comply with planning guidance which is that stores have to be located as close to the centre of Silverhill as possible. This plan achieves that. There will be a restaurant as well. The idea is to encourage people to use the other shops.”
He said the medical centre had been dropped due to having to relocate the store but added “We’re keen to find a solution to accommodate it but it will have to be at the back of the site. It’s up to the PCT”
Another change from the previous plan is that Chichester Road will only be used for recycling access, not for goods deliveries, which will now follow the same route as was used by Marshall Tufflex. Tom McGarry said, “An acoustic fence will be used to block out noise.” He was reluctant to comment on the unnamed white rectangle of land shown on the plans near Battle Road.
Objectors are worried about the effect on traffic flow, but Asda say they have worked hard on this, including “investing in a bus gate to give buses priority  in Battle Road” and “a contribution towards local buses to ensure a consistent and reliable service.”
About a hundred people visited the Information Day. Local resident Sylvia Worthing pointed out, “This is a new application, so people against the scheme will have to object all over again.  Their objections to the earlier plan won’t count.”