Fresh bid to move Poundstretchers into Glenrothes retail park after trampoline centre closed

A new planning application has been lodged for the now empty unit at the Saltire Retail Park which was home to the popular Xrtreme Trampoline Park which closed earlier this year after discovering its landlords had new plans for the building.

Sackville UK Property Select III wants to move Poundstretchers from Unit 2-3, which it has occupied for a decade, intot Unit 6 - and then put The Range into the cut-price retailer’s existing premises. They argue the moves will strengthen the retail park’s future.

But the developer’s bid to make such a move earlier this year was rejected by councillors who were concerned at the impact on shops in Glenrothes’ town centre.

Sackville needs approval to change the use of the site to allow Poundstretchers to move, as some of the good its sells are not compliant with the planning regulations. It has returned with the same application, but argues that the move is “unlikely to be threat to vitality of town centre.”

To back up that stance, Sackville said the Town Centre First assessment has been updated to provide a more detailed consideration of those alternative sites with the Kingdom Centre identified by the local authority to justify the proposed development.

In a planning statement, it added: “Due to their scale and nature, the proposals are unlikely to be a material threat to the vitality and viability of Glenrothes town centre or any nearby local centres and would greatly raise the range and quality of the comparison goods offer in the area.

“The proposed development also complies with the sequential approach having demonstrated that there are no sites or units in or on the edge of the town centre that are available and that represent viable or suitable alternatives for the proposed development.”

Sackville wants approval for a change of use from a trampoline centre to mixed use in which not more than 100 square metres net retail floorspace shall be for the sale of food.

It said the proposals are “a key part of the applicant’s wider strategy for the retail park and are expected to enhance the attractiveness and viability of it, and contribute towards the wider vitality and viability of Glenrothes as a retail destination. “given significant weight in the determination of this application.”

Councillors will consider the application in due course;.