Planning: Home Bargains store backed for Sealand Airfields site
A new Home Bargains store at the former RAF Sealand site in Garden City is being recommended for approval by Flintshire County Council planners.
The application, submitted by TJ Morris Ltd, proposes a 2,322 square metre retail unit at Plot 1, The Airfields, with access, a servicing yard, external display space, parking, trolley bays, landscaping, plant and a substation.
The site sits within the Northern Gateway strategic development and is allocated for commercial use in the Flintshire Local Development Plan.
It forms part of land once earmarked for a district centre serving new housing and the surrounding communities.
Planning officers say market changes mean the earlier plan for several smaller units could not be delivered.
Instead, the existing Aldi next door and the proposed Home Bargains are expected to provide day to day shopping options for residents.
The wider Airfields landowner has committed to progressing some of the other uses originally planned for the district centre on Plot 2, including a medical facility. Officers say discussions with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are continuing.
Local member Cllr Christine Jones has asked for the plans to be considered by the planning committee so that issues including access, traffic and the scale of the scheme can be fully assessed.
The 2.3 hectare plot has already been prepared for development. It is located off Welsh Road, with the A494 to the east, Aldi and a care home to the north, a vacant plot and homes on Tiger Moth Road to the west, and houses on Hawthorn View to the south.
The scheme includes 178 parking spaces made up of standard, accessible and parent and child bays, plus two electric vehicle spaces.
Cycle and motorcycle parking is also proposed. Highways officers are generally satisfied with the layout but want a condition requiring at least 10 per cent of spaces to have electric vehicle chargers before the store opens.
A Transport Statement says the store can be accommodated on the road network without harming highway safety.
Welsh Government, which oversees the A494, has raised no objection.
Sealand Community Council has expressed concern about limited public transport, but officers note there is an existing bus route on Welsh Road and say the wider Northern Gateway scheme includes good walking and cycling links.
The land has previously been at risk of flooding. The applicant has provided detailed assessments showing how drainage and flood risk would be managed. Natural Resources Wales says the proposals are acceptable if conditions are followed.
Because the site was once part of RAF Sealand, checks for contamination have been carried out.
These have been reviewed by Natural Resources Wales and the council.
Any remaining issues can be managed through planning conditions requiring further investigation and safeguards during construction.
An ecological report recommends measures to protect wildlife and watercourses during building work.
The plans include a green roof and bird and bat boxes. Natural Resources Wales has raised no objections.
Only one public comment was submitted, asking whether another retail unit is needed and why a medical centre is not included.
Planning officers say the Home Bargains is suitable for this site and that impacts on traffic, drainage, ground conditions, amenity and wildlife can be properly controlled.
The planning committee will consider the application on Wednesday 17 December 2025.
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