A huge new Costco warehouse will be built in Gloucester after plans were approved last night (Dec 3).

The multi-million pound project was unanimously given the nod by councillors despite concerns about traffic safety.

It will be built on the former Interbrew site off Eastern Avenue which has been vacant since September 2017, despite several historic schemes to redevelop it.

Costco snapped up the 5.5 hectare brownfield site, thought to be worth £11.8 million, last year and said it will now commence construction as soon as possible,.

The warehouse will contain 12,800 sqm of floorspace, surrounded by 612 car parking spaces for customers and staff and landscaping, with the access off Eastern Avenue retained and two new accesses created off Chancel Close. It will also include a petrol station with nine pumps.

The majority of the store will be filled with racks of goods, but it will also house an in- house bakery, butchers, opticians, hearing centre and café.

Initially, it will create 180 jobs, rising to as many as 250 three to five years from opening, with the store expected to have a turnover of £84.7 million by 2028.

James Cheesemore, retail estate director for Costco Wholesale, said: "This application will help to deliver a substantial investment into the Gloucester economy to secure the redevelopment of a long standing vacant and underused site."

Costco currently has 29 UK stores, with the nearest in Bristol and Coventry, meaning people from Gloucester have to travel a significant distance to shop there.

Mr Cheesemore said the company was "excited" to have found an opportunity to develop a new warehouse in Gloucester.

A recruitment plan will be developed with the council and aim to give the majority of jobs to local people. Approximately 53% of the jobs will be full time, with part time roles offering a minimum of 24 hours a week.

"The aim of the business is to provide careers, not just jobs, and we offer competitive salary packages and training opportunities," added Mr Cheesemore.

Cllr Pam Tracey (C, Westgate) said she had a "problem" with the highways aspect and raised concerns about traffic and safety along Eastern Avenue.

Cllr Alastair Chambers (Community Independents, Matson, Robinswood and White City) said he welcomed the scheme overall but believed the highways design needed improving."I visited the Costco in Shirehampton twice and on both occasions there were tailbacks.

"This scheme hasn't got anything to back up traffic to accommodate people going into the store.

"I don't understand why there isn't a slip road starting earlier and a junction straight off the turning.

"Traffic will back up past the junction and I guarantee it will be a safety issue given that the road is unsafe."

A council planning officer responded: "The highway impact has been comprehensively modelled and assessed to not have a detrimental impact on the local highway network. We do not anticipate there being a significant blocking back issues being caused. "

The proposals have been overwhelmingly well received by locals, who said it would be a good use of the site and bring employment and trade to the area. Overall, 94% of comments made about the application were supportive.

Mr Cheesemore said the company acknowledged that the operation of the highway network was an "important consideration" and it had addressed concerns raised with improvements to Eastern Avenue and Chancel Close.

There will also be improvements to facilities for pedestrians and cyclists on Eastern Avenue and developer contributions to improve bus and cycle routes on Metz Way.

Costco offers a limited selection of products within a wide variety of product categories. It mainly serves as a supplier to retail and business, particularly small to medium businesses, but also allows some individual public memberships to specified groups for an annual fee.

It said around 65% of sales would come from trade customers and 35% from individuals and it estimates around £4.2 million of sales would be taken away from other stores in Gloucester.

Council officers have said the warehouse should be restricted to approximately 4,000 different stock items - aimed primarily at trade members. And they said Costco should aim for 55% of sales to trade members and 45% to individuals.

Cllr Angela Conder (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton) proposed approving the scheme and Cllr Tracey seconded the motion. 

The committee voted unanimously to approve the plans.