Car supermarket plan for Walsall cinema site postponed as firm proposes temporary use
A plan to built a huge car supermarket on the site of a former Walsall cinema has been put on hold due to a tough economic climate.
Bailey Family Investments group (BF) has put forward a proposal to use the site which used to house the Showcase Cinema on Bentley Mill Way as a temporary storage facility.
The company, which owns the Trade Centre Group, said it will not be starting the original plan to redevelop it into a sales showroom which they’d put an application in to Walsall Council for back in 2021.
It was originally intended to replace the existing Trade Centre site in Wednesbury with this larger showroom.
But representatives have stressed they still planned on progressing with that once the financial climate improves for them.
And they added using the land as a storage site for three years would allow them to transition into a car sales facility.
Agents AP Architecture and Planning said: “The Showcase Cinema opened on 25 August 1989 and was initially very successful.
“However trade declined following the opening in October 1997 of Cineworld in Wolverhampton, and more recently in March 2016, The Light in Walsall took 50 per cent of Showcase’s market share.
“Coronavirus restrictions had a big impact and this culminated in the cinema closing permanently in April 2021, following its temporary closure December 2020.
“Due to the current depressed economic conditions the Bailey Family Investments group (BF), owners of the Trade Centre Group will not be commencing development of the Walsall site any time soon.
“The group’s current focus is on improving the efficiency of its existing Trade Centre Wales and Trade Centre UK sites and operations and it does not currently need the additional car sales facility that the Walsall site would provide.
“However, as soon as economic conditions improve, the group aims to open further retail sites in the Midlands and North of England and will develop the Walsall site at the appropriate time.
“The group still plans to create over 100 high-quality jobs at the site when it is developed.
“In the meantime, Bailey Family Investments wishes to utilise the Walsall site for open storage to generate a cash contribution towards its site holding costs.
“The proposal forming this full planning application is therefore for a temporary change of use of the site to allow it to be used as open storage for a period of 3 years. No other alterations are proposed.
“A three year temporary period would coincide well with implementation period of (the original application) once approved. And would allow a smooth transition between the temporary use and car sales use.
“Access into the site is from the existing access point directly off Bentley Mill Lane. Access arrangements for the adjacent casino will remain the same.
“The hours of operation for the open storage facility would be the same as the car sales 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 6pm on weekends/bank holidays.
“Vehicle movements to and from the site are considered to be significantly less than that associated with there sites previous use and that currently being considered as car sales.”
