Green Light for New Aberavon Aldi and Starbucks Development
Members of Neath Port Talbot Council's Planning Committee gave the go ahead for the development earlier this month. It will involve 141 parking spaces, a number of bicycle parking hoops and 18 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points.
The Starbucks outlet will come with an associated drive-thru facility. The planning permission also covers landscaping and drainage works and access onto the adjacent Afan Way and Water Street.
The new development will also mean Active Travel benefits for Water Street. There will be a new pedestrian / cycle route from Water Street (3.5m wide) and a widened footway along Water Street's southern flank (3.2m wide).
Cllr Jeremy Hurley, Neath Port Talbot Council's Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Economic Growth, said:
'This proposal will result in the redevelopment of what has been derelict, unsightly, underused and vacant land.
'The project will contribute to creating a more viable 'destination' for shoppers both travelling to Port Talbot via car or using active travel.'
A planning officers' report said: 'It is considered the proposal represents an appropriate form of development that integrates well within the surrounding urban context, with no adverse impacts upon visual amenity, residential amenity, flood risk or drainage, land contamination, highway or pedestrian safety nor biodiversity.'
Public consultation led to 317 representations of support with just three objections.
The planning committee was told the development fits in with Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 which is the national development framework, setting the direction for development in Wales to 2040.
The development plan sets out a strategy for addressing key national priorities through the planning system, including sustaining and developing a vibrant economy, achieving decarbonisation and climate resilience, developing strong ecosystems and improving the health and wellbeing of communities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Tesla's North American director of service leaves EV maker
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Piero Landolfi, Tesla's (TSLA.O), opens new tab director of service for the North American market has left the EV maker after nearly nine years, joining an exodus of executives from the company grappling with a drop in sales. Leaving Tesla was hard due to "the first principle thinking and the getting stuff done mentality" at the company, Landolfi said in a LinkedIn post on Sunday. Landolfi has now joined AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce technology company Nimble as its senior vice president of operations, per his LinkedIn profile. His move is the latest of a string of departures from the electric carmaker, joining Troy Jones, Tesla's top sales executive in North America, who left in July after 15 years with the company. Raj Jegannathan, a senior executive with a wide purview including several IT and data functions, recently took over the sales role, Reuters reported exclusively last month. Other key figures who left include Omead Afshar, Tesla CEO Elon Musk's confidant, who was in charge of sales and manufacturing operations in North America and Europe. Milan Kovac, the head of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot team, announced he was leaving in June. Other recent departures include top battery executive Vineet Mehta and software chief David Lau. Musk's EV maker posted the worst quarterly sales decline in more than a decade and profit that missed Wall Street targets in July; its profit margin on making cars, however, was better than many feared. Musk had said that U.S. government cuts in support for EV makers could lead to a "few rough quarters" for Tesla, before a wave of revenue from self-driving software and services begins late next year.
Glasgow Times
7 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Starbucks to takeover old Clydebank KFC drive-thru
Starbucks has submitted a planning application to West Dunbartonshire Council to convert the former KFC store in the Clyde Retail Park into a drive-thru. The application is set to transform the derelict Unit Nine and create car parking spaces, a drive-thru route around the building, and a large seating area within the venue. Former KFC store in the Clyde Retail Park. (Image: Newsquest) The company posted two job listings for a barista and supervisor in June, though it does not say how many positions are up for grabs. General Image of a Starbucks Mug. (Image: Starbucks) KFC announced the closure of the drive-thru unit in January 2024, as bosses said, "all good things must come to an end." It is understood that staff at the branch were moved to other KFC sites after the closure. Visualisation of store front. (Image: West Dunbartonshire Council Planning Portal) Proposed site plan for new Starbucks unit. (Image: West Dunbartonshire Council Planning Portal) A Starbucks spokesperson previously declined to comment on whether they were planning to introduce a store at the retail park. Commenting in June, the spokesperson said: "While we are always looking for new locations and opportunities to bring the Starbucks experience to customers in the UK, we have no news to share about plans for the Clyde Retail Park at this time.' A date for a decision on the application has not yet been set. Starbucks has been contacted for comment.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ford unveils new EV in 'next Model T moment'
Ford is unveiling a new EV that it is calling its 'next Model T moment' - which will be made entirely in the US. The mid-size pickup truck is expected to hit dealerships in 2027 for around $30,000. Ford said the yet-to-be-named truck will be built on a brand-new, American-made battery platform at its Louisville, Kentucky plant. This will be the first EV from any automaker powered mostly by US-sourced materials - a big deal given that critical minerals are typically imported, often from China. GM is also developing similar battery technologies . LFPs are also cheaper to build, improve fire safety, have a longer lifespan, and offer more environmentally-friendly mining practices. Ford invoked the legacy of the Model T - the car that revolutionized American manufacturing with the assembly line - to underscore the importance of the new launch. 'It represents the most radical change on how we design and how we build vehicles at Ford since the Model T,' CEO Jim Farley said. The truck's battery uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, which avoids cobalt and nickel, and promises acceleration that beats the Mustang in a straight line. Ford also claims the pickup will have more passenger space than the 2025 Toyota RAV4 and include its latest highway self-driving tech, Blue Cruise. While the company hasn't revealed a name for the truck, rumors are flying that Ford is bringing back the Ranchero nameplate for the new car. The company reportedly filed patent paperwork to reclaim the name, but declined Daily Mail's request for comment on the name. The popular mini truck sold a half-million units from 1957 through the 1970s. Still, it's a major technological departure from Ford. The company, which has a three-vehicle lineup of EVs, just reported losing $1.3 billion on its all electric fleet. But Ford needed to adjust its parts pipeline. In June, the automaker temporarily shuttered some of its US production plants as Chinese officials throttled critical mineral pipelines to the company. 'There are no guarantees with this project,' Farley added. 'It is a bet, there is risk.' Investors, didn't initially seem convinced: Ford's stock dipped 0.5 percent after the announcement. 'The new techniques sound great and have potential for much higher output of a vehicle program due to faster assembly times,' David Whiston, an analyst who covers Ford at Morningstar, told the Daily Mail. 'Until we can see the product though, it's all words.' Meanwhile, Ford is not alone. Other car companies are expecting to release lower priced EVs to the market next year that could cut into Ford's low-cost EV competitiveness. Slate, a company with the financial backing of Jeff Bezos, is developing a mid-$20,000 electric pickup at its Warsaw, Indiana plant. Rivian, the outdoorsy startup with a $5 billion deal with Volkswagen, is about to launch its lower-cost R2 and R3 vehicles in 2026 . Ford's project helps President Donald Trump deliver on one of his biggest campaign promises: more manufacturing jobs in the United States. Ford said it is making a huge investment to complete the project. The automaker will spend around $2 billion to rework the factory and plans to hire 2,200 full-time workers.
