Developers Hopeful for Approval of Food and Retail Outlets on Former Gateway to Wales Hotel Site

DEVELOPERS planning to build four food and retail outlets on the site of a Flintshire hotel which was destroyed by fire will be hoping it’s third time lucky.
Proposals to transform the former Gateway to Wales hotel site in Garden City have twice been refused by Flintshire Council.
It followed concerns being raised that the last scheme to create a Costa Coffee drive-thru, convenience store and two food retail outlets just off the A494 would cause significant traffic problems.
A fresh bid has now been made to gain approval for similar plans after an application was lodged with the local authority.
While planning documents have yet to be published, the council’s website shows the proposals would include four food and retail units, along with landscaping, car parking spaces and signs.
The last set of plans were considered by councillors in March 2022, where they were backed for approval by officers.
However, planning committee members said issues surrounding the impact on traffic had not been addressed, despite the company providing an assessment which said the scheme would not cause problems on surrounding roads.
Speaking at the time, local councillor Christine Jones said: “I’ve still got great concerns about the access onto that site, including the parking of HGVs and the turning of HGVs coming in and out.
“My concerns have not been addressed at all because they can’t be. You can’t move the roundabout and you can’t stop traffic coming off the A494.
“It’s an extremely busy area and it’s going to be even busier with all the construction traffic now going through from all the new developments.”
The land has been disused since a fire tore through the Gateway to Wales hotel in December 2017, leaving the building completely gutted.
The 40-bedroom hotel was later knocked down after being bought by Manchester-based company Valedown Developments in 2020.
A previous bid to redevelop the site was also rejected in March 2021 due to the impact on traffic.
A decision will be made on the most recent application at a later date. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​