Hartlepool's fifth Greggs bakery shop gets go-ahead with tanning salon to open next door

Proposals were submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council planning department last year to divide the former Carphone Warehouse shop at Anchor Retail Park into two units.

Applicant Canada Life is looking to open a tanning studio at one of the sites, with the other becoming home to a new store for British bakery chain Greggs.

Council planning officers have issued a report confirming the proposals have been approved, paving the way for work to begin.

The report said: “The proposed development would bring back into use a unit that is understood to have been vacant since 2020.

“The application is considered acceptable with respect to material planning considerations and is in general accordance with the Hartlepool Local Plan.”

A statement from NTR Planning in support of the application said the development would have no “significant adverse effects” on the area.

It said: “If the unit were to remain vacant its presence would continue to adversely impact on existing tenants at Anchor Retail Park and also reduce investor confidence.

“The proposal will instead have a positive impact in respect of consumer choice, job creation and growth.”

Documents note Hartlepool is currently home to Greggs stores in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Belle Vue Way and Powlett Road while there is also a fourth located at The Fens shopping parade.

The development will involve both internal and external works to enable the subdivision of the existing building, while an outdoor seating area will be provided for the new Greggs.

The bakery chain will be able to open from 6am as part of the plans to serve the “early morning trade”.

Two objections had been submitted to the proposals raising concerns the town is “already saturated with tanning salons” and that the latest development would place “an even greater strain” on existing organisations.

Yet officers said the worries relate to “market forces and competition between businesses”, which are not material planning considerations and therefore “cannot be considered” as part of the decision making process.

The vacant Anchor Retail Park unit was most recently home to Carphone Warehouse, which closed all of its standalone stores in April 2020.