A planning application has been submitted for a section of the Next store in Hatfield's retail park to be turned into a "national grocer".
Savills Limited submitted the proposals on behalf of Coal Pension Properties Limited, with a consultation open until June 10.
The plans seek to extend the permitted retail use to include the sale of food in unit 1A of Olding's Corner Retail Park, in Comet Way.
The unit is currently occupied by Next. This change of condition will see 64 per cent of the unit's floorspace occupied by a national multiple grocer.
Read more:
- Hatfield: Plans submitted to turn former NatWest Bank into flats
- John Lewis deny Welwyn Garden City store closure rumours
The proposed development is also seeking to utilise unused food and drink space from an entirely different unit.
Applicants state that Unit 2, occupied by B&M, only requires 465sqm of floorspace to display its food and drink ranges and therefore, there is a surplus of that existing provision of 1,115sqm.
Plans would see an additional 235sqm of floorspace to be used for the sale of food and drink to meet the requirements of both operators.
The applicant has undertaken a survey of alternative units and believes there are no premises of sufficient scale in either Welwyn or Hatfield to accommodate the proposed development.
One resident, who asked to remain anonymous, has rubbished these claims.
He said: "The covering letter says that the only alternative sites were the ground floor of the closed Debenhams in WGC (currently under offer) and the previously vacant Peacocks store in Hatfield.
"However, there are vacant units in the Howard Centre, the M&S unit and the Next unit that closed. Therefore, the application fails the sequential test."
The resident added that the the applicants - Coal Pension Properties - owns the Howard Centre in Welwyn Garden City, while the agent, Savills, is the estate agent for the shopping complex.
Get more stories like this delivered to your inbox every week by signing up to the Welwyn Hatfield Times In Brief newsletter.
Shoppers are now concerned about what may happen to the once thriving shopping centre as businesses are leaving in droves.
To view the plans in full, visit the planning portal at welhat.gov.uk/planning-applications and search for reference 6/2023/0945/VAR.
The consultation is set to end on Saturday, June 10.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here