Waitrose plans delivery bay extension and EV chargers in Sidmouth

The supermarket has submitted plans for works at its Stowford Rise store in Sidmouth, with the application description also listing a new ramp and an extended walkway.

Planning documents submitted on behalf of Waitrose Ltd say the scheme is intended to support an expanded e-commerce delivery operation without increasing the store's sales floorspace or changing its retail use.

The proposals would see five temporary shipping containers removed from the service yard, together with an existing ancillary storage structure, as part of plans for a larger permanent delivery and storage area.

Six dedicated parking bays with electric vehicle charging would also be provided for the store's e-commerce delivery vans.

The documents state that customer parking and existing access arrangements would remain unchanged and that no additional HGV servicing movements are proposed.

The service yard is accessed from Howarth Close and is enclosed by gates.

Planning documents say new full-height solid gates were installed in January 2026, preventing views into the yard from Howarth Close when they are closed.

The store is around two kilometres north of Sidmouth town centre and the site lies within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The application also proposes the removal and replacement of existing rooftop cooling and refrigeration equipment.

New plant would remain within the established rooftop plant area, while an acoustic screen is proposed along the southern side to reduce the potential noise impact on neighbouring properties.

The design and access statement says the existing roof-access cat ladder would be removed and replaced with a new stair from the first floor.

The roof access door and stair would be moved around three metres south to accommodate the proposed plant layout, with a new mesh walkway installed to match the existing walkway.

Planning documents say the replacement equipment would be grouped within the existing plant zone and would be less visually prominent than the current installation.

The covering letter also refers to a transport assessment carried out for the proposals, which states that vehicle tracking showed the largest articulated vehicle in the Waitrose fleet could use the proposed service yard layout without conflicting with the e-commerce van bays.

It says Devon County Council Highways indicated at a pre-application meeting on Monday, May 18 that it had no objection in principle to the proposals.

The covering letter refers to an earlier planning decision for the site and quotes a 2008 officers' report as saying: "The site is considerably lower than the A3052 and the existing building only partially visible from this vantage point…"

The report continued: "It is considered that the clean lines of the main extension and its relatively inconspicuous position would lead to no material harm to the quality and the character of the AONB.

"Likewise, although the extension of the loading bay is designed in a functional way, it will not be effectively visible from outside the site and is considered acceptable."

The latest planning documents argue that removing the temporary containers and reorganising the service yard would improve its appearance, while the proposed rooftop equipment would not adversely affect neighbouring residents, parking, servicing, biodiversity or heritage assets.