Plans approved to convert closed garden centre into builders merchants

Plans were lodged Durham County Council in 2019 for the Olivers Garden Centre site at Holmhill Lane, Chester Moor, near Chester-le-Street.

The site has been empty for around three years except for when it was occupied by caravan and car storage.

A report by council planners states enforcement action was taken against these “unauthorised uses.”

New plans from Joseph Parr Ltd, of Stockton, aim to improve the site and boost the area.

This includes re-cladding the existing building, new open storage areas and extra car parking, alongside the creation of nearly 20 jobs.

During consultation, around 26 objections were lodged mainly around highway safety and development on the green belt.

Opposition came from neighbours, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and North Durham MP Kevan Jones, who wrote to the council expressing their concerns.

The MP raised concerns about the potential hazards of large vehicles turning to access the site on the A167 dual carriageway.

Despite this, the plans were approved by Durham County Council’s planning authority on March 13.

Although “substantial weight” was given to the potential harm to the green belt, a planning report states, planners said that the development “does not affect openness.”

The economic benefits from the builders merchants and bringing a brownfield site back into use were also seen as positives.

The report goes on to say: “There have been no other issues identified – including through the assessment ofresidents’ and other objectors’ significant concerns regarding highway safety – that either outweigh this conclusion, or that cannot be controlled to reasonable degree by the imposition of appropriate conditions.”

Approved opening hours include Monday to Friday, 7am-5pm and Saturday, 7am-12noon.

Under planning conditions, an improved site access and gates need to be built before the builders merchants can open.

Checks will also be put in place to ensure the development does not “compromise the safety or operation of the adjacent railway line.”