This would be the third Greggs in the city (Picture: Getty/Solent News)
A plan for more sausage rolls being sold in Winchester has caused a lot of controversy.
City of Winchester Trust launched an official objection with the council about a drive-thru branch of Greggs.
Charged with protecting the city’s ‘rich heritage and its essential character’, the trust argues the bakery could entice more people to journey to the outskirts of the city, leading to more traffic.
Under the proposal, a 167 square metre Greggs will be erected in Winchester’s Winnall area, in the Homebase car park, close to the M3.
The proposed new shop would be built in a Homebase car park close to the M3 motorway (Picture: Solent News)
But the trust argues the current application is not clear on how a rise in traffic around the proposed drive-thru benefits the city.
‘It is unclear form the application – as with the McDonalds/Tesco application, to which the trust objected – how the generation of additional car-borne trips relates to the Winchester Movement and Access Strategy,’ the objection read.
‘We therefore object on grounds of lack of clarity.’
The application proposes to cut parking spaces from 196 to 152 to accommodate for the Greggs.
It would be open from 5.30am until 11pm, seven days a week, and able to fit 36 customers inside.
Another objection was received from a member of the public.
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James Excell, who works down the road from the site, also expressed his concerns about the traffic implications of the new Greggs.
He said: ‘The local road infrastructure is not adequate for the traffic at present, let alone adding a drive-thru establishment into it.
‘The connecting roundabout from the A34 and M3 will create a deeper build-up of traffic outside of normal business hours and will hinder and delay HGV movements in and out of our site.
‘The traffic build-up is a concern regarding our fire department, and whether they will be able to deploy safely and get through the heavily congested areas this will add to.
‘The location of the site is on a short road leading off the roundabout. This will create queues leading back to Winchester town.
‘At peak times and even at 12:00 today, the traffic was queuing back to the nursery on the edge of town, two miles down the road.’
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The trust argues it could lead to more traffic.