The council has granted outline planning permission for development on the Newcastle General Hospital site. The plans, which include a giant Tesco store, were approved on 21 January 2011 despite opposition from local residents.
Although this is a major blow to the West End of Newcastle, the campaign is not over. The developers still need to submit a detailed application for the Tesco store.
Members of the Stop Fenham Tesco campaign are surprised and disappointed that the council has approved the plans given that very similar proposals were rejected two years ago. The supermarket is slightly smaller and the petrol station has gone, but otherwise the plans have changed very little.
The proposed store is enormous – twice the size of Morrisons at Cowgate. It will mean a huge increase in traffic to the area and will result in the closure of many of our local shops. Over 1000 local residents objected to planning application.
