Conygar unveils plans for Cross Hands retail park

Conygar plans to develop the site previously earmarked for a Sainsburys store

Plans to build a retail park creating up to 260 full-time jobs have been lodged with Carmarthenshire council.

Cross Hands West was previously earmarked for a Sainsbury's superstore, but the supermarket chain pulled out and sold the land to Conygar in 2015.

Conygar is now seeking permission to develop the site with a variety of shops, food stores, a pub/restaurant and a 562-space car park.

The application is currently out for consultation.

Responding, the leader of Carmarthenshire council, Councillor Emlyn Dole, said: "I fully support the above application."

A total of 10 units is being proposed for the site, including:

• A stand alone discount food store

• A variety store

• A frozen food specialist

• Two comparison stores

• A high end food store

• A drive-through for food and drink

• Retail units

• A family pub/restaurant

Neil James, chairman of Carmarthen Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said Cross Hands was an up-and-coming area, with many new houses being built there, but warned the proposed retail park would be bad news for nearby town centres.

"We are not a fan of these out-of-town shops," he said.

"There are some empty units in Carmarthen and even more in Llanelli - so it's a concern that building a retail park like this could take further footfall away from our town centres."