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BAE Plans: Is this now a Retail Park from Developer Hargreaves?

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Back in January 2015, Waterlooville was shocked and dismayed to learn that the new developer had withdrawn plans for the BAE Leisure Park.

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The leisure park, to be built on the old BAE site just off the Hambledon Road, was going to include:

  • Bowling Alley
  • Cinema
  • Restaurants
  • Pub
  • Drive-through restaurant
  • Health & Fitness Centre
  • Hotel
  • Aldi

BAE Retail Park Waterlooville

The first sets of new plans for this location have been submitted by the new developer Hargreaves, in summary:

  • There is no more Aldi; a Lidl will be built here.
  • There will be not one but two drive-thru restaurants; a McDonalds and KFC. a The McDonalds restaurant will have a small childrens play area and a patio.
  • There are other buildings which are unnamed.
  • The plans contain many small buildings which could be commercial offices or perhaps small shops or industrial units.

Our questions on these plans are:

  • Is Cowplain at risk of losing their existing Lidl?  Are are two Lidls a few miles apart sustainable?
  • Is Cowplain is at risk of losing their existing KFC? Are two KFCs a few miles apart sustainable?
  • Why are remaining buildings on the plans unnamed with no function indicated?

Based on these plans, I don’t think this is a leisure park. This looks similar to the Havant Retail Park built by developer Hargreaves, this park comprises of KFC, Aldi, Wickes, Pizza Hutt, Carphone Warehouse etc.

Hargreaves is also the developer here at the Former BAE Systems Technology Park Waterlooville. Will Hargreaves run to the same formula as the Havant Retail Park?

So residents of Waterlooville, do you think you’ll get a Leisure Park or a Retail Park from Hargreaves?

What about the employees of existing Cowplain Lidl, and Cowplain KFC, will they be moving or have they even been consulted?

You can see the partial planning application here and there is also information on how to respond to the plans.

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Comments

  2. Nearly everything that is in the retail park in Havant is within a mile of Waterlooville – Carpetright, Wickes, Dreams etc. I reeeeally hope this is refused, we need some leisure facilities!!!!

  3. When I worked for KFC in Cowplain years ago it was always having gossip that it was moving to Waterlooville. But the rumours are never right. I don’t see lidl moving from Cowplain at all.

  4. Sainsbury’s in Waterlooville was a big mistake. KFC in Cowplain I never visit as parking is an issue there. We need more leisure things to do, not another retail park like Havant.

  9. There is nothing to do around waterlooville, except shop, I don’t drive and would like walking distance to do something with my partner and our baby on the way, believe it or not but shopping does get boring after a while.

  11. We need leisure facilities not more bloody mcdonalds and KFC?! We need a cinema, bowling alley etc, so many new houses being built with nothing to do! Such a disappointment

  12. Sainsburys is fantastic, we visit it a few times a week, just ashame there is two more un needed shops being built on top of parking spaces in the retail park

  13. So was planning permitted before for the previous bowling alley etc? Surely if this has changed to a retail park they would need to resubmit to planning as change of use?

  19. I think the original plans were better !! Our children need places to go to , the nearest cinema is Port Solent or Gun Wharf , also nearest bowling is Gun Wharf . Would be nice to consult the general public , but that’s just too easy !!

  26. definitely needs the kfc moving from cowplain.
    but why wont they put something for the kids to do there like cinema and bowling. there is nothing for them in waterlooville and buses are getting so expensive, i hope they change there minds.

  27. I was wondering what they are going to be putting up on the London Road area where they are building houses now near Corbett road as we need a large children’s play area and places for couples to go as town is becoming a ghost town with empty shops and not having the need to go to Portsmouth or ports solent for the evening and be in Waterlooville to enjoy a evening than travelling long distance

  31. I wondered the same thing Rachel Lucking. Is there a petition set up? I’d sign straight away. I don’t know how to set the petition things up myself. Rather see an empty space than more retail!!! The 1st plans would be much more preferable though! The council need to push for leisure. Surely it would sit well with horizon being there too?

  32. With all the houses being built, Waterlooville desperately needs some leisure activities! There is nothing to do! Waterlooville town centre is nothing but a ghost town of charity and coffee shops and more needs to be done to encourage shops back into the town.

  33. Having worked at kfc the plans for the drivecthrough have there have been known for years and kfc are unlikely to close the cowplain one amd i work for lidl too now and this is the first I’ve heard of that development

  35. All these people talking about needing more leisure facility’s, nothing wrong with building another one and charging an affordable price, but what’s wrong with the leisure centre 500 yards away? What’s stopping you using that one ? It has a lot to offer if your genuinely want to get involved in your chosen sport.

    • Alex , the leisure facility in Waterlooville is fine but with a bit more thought it could have been made better. My kids always preferred the Taro centre at Petersfield as it had more to do there in the pool area. But this is not the type of leisure facility people are talking about . We are talking about an evenings entertainment , cinema or bowling and maybe a pub/restaurant after .

  37. People don’t just want leisure centres like Horizon (nothing wrong with Horizon if you like your sports) but we have no recreational facilities as in a bowling alley or cinema. You can’t build 10,000 homes and not provide places for entertainment

  39. But they only just got rid of Mcdonalds in Waterlooville because it couldn’t compete with the drive through in Havant (which never made sense to me)? Why would this new one work any better? A retail park would work if they put the right sort of shops in there as right now the precinct has been pretty much reduced to charity shops and coffee shops, but leisure facilities are also much needed.

  40. Why don’t they just listen to what people want. The first plans were better NO to KFC which stinks NO to McDonald’s give us the cinema and the bowling Alley give us Aldi. This is just rubbish why is this allowed to happen.

  42. There needs to be stuff for people to do either as families or couples. There are only so many coffees a person can drink and you can’t shop all the time! Would sooner have an Aldi as our nearest one is Havant and there is already a Lidl in Cowplain.