11:38 am, June 3, 2024
The site of a former Waitrose shop in Shrewsbury is set to become a showroom for Greenhous Group.
The car dealership chain has applied to Shropshire Council for a change of use for the vacant site at 27b Pride Hill from retail to car showroom and to replace the display windows and doors along with an internally lit fascia panel and projecting sign.
It would see one full-time and two part-time jobs created by the Car Dealer Top 100 firm.
The planning statement lodged with the council said that ‘the vehicles promoted will be electric only’, while the application said the showroom would be open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
However, Greenhous regional retail director Danny Minshall told Car Dealer: ‘The site will not just focus on electric vehicles.
‘We stated we will run electrification awareness and education days from the store to help local consumers understand the ownership/usership of these types of vehicles.’
He added that the opening times were subject to a final decision and it was unlikely to be open on a Sunday.
The ground floor would be the showroom, covering some 87 square metres, with the remaining 60 square metres given over to offices as well as ‘welfare facilities’.
Meanwhile, the basement of some 320 square metres would be used for storage.
Test drives won’t be carried out from there, according to the planning statement, with customers referred to neighbouring dealerships in Featherbed Lane or in Telford.
In addition, nothing will physically be sold. Instead, the showroom will ‘offer a professional, non-pressurised customer experience and make life easier for local consumers to book services such as test drives, vehicle viewings, annual maintenance and servicing’.
They will also be able to book MOTs, winter checks, summer checks and valets, as well as talk to experts about service plans and the products that Greenhous provides, plus get advice on electrification and valuations on their current vehicles.
‘In summary the unit will become a destination to promote Greenhous in the local area and a useful marketing tool for the rest of their business,’ it says.
A total of 34 members of staff faced losing their jobs when the Little Waitrose branch closed in December 2020 after owner John Lewis Partnership said it had been unable to make it ‘profitable in the long term’ because of ‘challenging trading’.
It was one of four closures announced at the same time, with the Caldicot, Wolverhampton and Ipswich branches also affected.
The site was put up for sale by Halls at offers in the region of £295,000 to buy it or £27,500 per year to rent.
A decision will be made by planners in due course.
Image via Google Street View from July 2018 when the property was a Little Waitrose
This article was originally published at 11.38am on June 3 and amended at 3.34pm the same day following information received from Greenhous Group
