Greggs Applies for First 24-Hour Drive-Through in Welsh Industrial Estate, Raises Concerns

Greggs has put in an application for what could be its first 24-hour drive through in a Welsh industrial estate. The pasty giant wants to open the store in Treforest Industrial Estate.
Concerns about the application have been raised by objectors, a community council and planning officers. Greggs wants to demolish an existing building and build a single storey Greggs bakery with a drive-thru with parking to be built on a site off Main Avenue on the estate.
The application is looking for permission for 24 hour opening, delivery and servicing hours to provide “maximum flexibility” for Greggs but the planning report said that opening hours may not be 24 hours.
There are currently only six Greggs branches in the UK which remain open for 24 hours, all of which are in airports including Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Birmingham, Glasgow and Gatwick and more could be on the way as Gregg has applied for special licences for both its Canterbury shop and another in the centre of Liverpool, on Lord Street.
It was widely reported earlier this year that Greggs was looking for a location for its first 24-hour drive through.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s planning committee is due to consider the plans at a meeting on Thursday, November 9 with planning officers recommending refusal over flood risk and ecology concerns.
And objectors and the local community council have raised their own concerns over noise and light pollution, the impact on road users and existing police issues in the area.
The report said that Greggs units are typically serviced through a pre-set delivery route where delivery drivers serve a series of stores within a certain area and the applicant is looking for unrestricted delivery and servicing
hours for this.
The Greggs bakery would employ 15 full time members of staff, according to the planning report.
The existing unit is subdivided into four office suites which are all currently empty.
There were three letters of objection from the public and one from Taffs Well and Nantgarw Community Council which raised concern over amenity and highways.
The three public objections raised concern about existing noise from refrigerated lorries at night, light pollution, problems involving the police, traffic and parking issues.
The concerns raised by the community council include that there is already noise pollution at night from the existing Greggs, caused by refrigerator lorries and it is expected that this proposal will lead to both increased refrigerator plant noise and increased movement of refrigerated lorries in the compound.
The community council said residents’ sleep is already disturbed by vehicles turning in an out and there is room for indoor and outdoor seating which may lead to further noise pollution.
They said the proposal is on top of a new crossing and a bus stop adding that the bus stop has room for multiple buses and is right on a bend so it is clear that there will be increased risks to road users.
The community council added that the industrial estate factories and other outlets can only operate between 8am and 8pm and there is concern that this is a change that others will seek to use and finally that there are already significant police issues at the food outlets by the Bowlplex.
Planning officers have given two reasons for recommending refusal which are that the application site lies within a flood zone and it fails to demonstrate that the consequences of flooding can be acceptably managed and that not enough information has been submitted to demonstrate that the proposed development would not have an adverse impact upon the ecology of the site. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​