Former Europcar office on The Hard will become convenience store

Jalal Hassan applied for permission to change the use of the Europcar building in August, saying this previous use was no longer financially viable.

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'The applicant believes that the proposed retail use will introduce additional choice and variety of refreshment facilities and as such will be complementary to the existing shopping attraction of the district centre to local people and the visiting public,' a planning statement submitted on his behalf says.

'The previous use of a vehicle hire and rental business has been proven to no longer be viable, and the proposed use is more suitable for this location.'

Planning permission was granted on Monday (December 5) and will allow the shop to operate under the same 8am to 10pm opening hours as the former Europcar offices had. Shorter 10am to 8pm hours will be in place on Sundays.