A FORMER Hyde car dealership will be turned into a ‘small-format supermarket’ and a gym if planning permission is granted.
Dranfield Properties, based in Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire, has applied to Tameside Council to work on what was Audi, on Stockport Road.
The building as is will remain but its first floor will be removed and the space divided into two. Each unit will be provided with a new dedicated entrance.
And the new gym facility will have showers for users.
The car dealership closed in March and despite extensive marketing within the motor trade sector, no alternative occupier was secured.
About 20 jobs were lost but the applicants state this scheme is expected to generate about 40 permanent roles.
“In addition, the construction and fit-out phases will support a number of temporary jobs and indirect employment through the supply chain and local service providers, providing a positive multiplier effect for the local economy,” they add.
Vehicle access will remain the same and there will be 72 parking spaces, as well as nine covered cycle stands.
Hyde Werneth’s councillors all met the applicants as the proposal was drawn up, along with people living nearby.
Documents state: “Councillors welcomed the proactive early engagement and expressed support for bringing the site back into use.
“The applicant has sought to ensure a transparent, collaborative, and inclusive approach to engagement in the preparation of this planning application.
“Early dialogue with local councillors and planning officers has helped shape a scheme that delivers a sustainable reuse of a redundant site, bringing it back into productive use and supporting local employment, economic vitality, and community wellbeing.
“This will attract people into the area and help provide a sustainable development whilst serving the growing population of Hyde.
“The development will substantially improve the visual character of the area.”
Tameside Council’s Speaker’s Panel (Planning) committee, or officers, will decide whether to grant or refuse permission.