The Range, Middlesbrough: Big-name store and garden centre set to fill disused site as plans given the green light

Revised plans for a retail unit for The Range near the Parkway Centre have been given the go-ahead.

The proposal by Evolve Estates will see the demolition of the boarded-up Dalby House on the Coulby Newham site to make way for the 7,100 sqm department store, with a gym on the first floor and an adjoining garden centre.

Plans were originally submitted in 2022 however the proposal has been revised to provide a single building, rather than two, as well as changes to the exterior of the building.

It also includes the repositioning of the existing car park entrance further north, a rejig of the car park layout to include 202 car parking spaces and redirection of the existing cycle link. Planting will carried out between the development and Dalby Way while at the northern end of the site, a public open space will be created with seating areas.

The plan is to move the current access to the car park 58 metres to the north. A council report into the plans said it will increase the stacking distance from the Dalby Way roundabout during busy periods in the car park.

This would reduce the potential for queueing cars waiting to enter or exit the car park from affecting traffic on the roundabout and along Dalby Way. A design and access statement in the planning application said the development will create “attractive, bespoke commercial facilities which will support the existing provision within the district centre.”

A council report said the proposed development meets national planning policy and “would not be out of scale and character within the surrounding area” or “detrimental to the local and residential amenities of the area or the conservation area. The layout and design of the commercial unit, associated car park and public realmworks have been considered fully and are not considered, on balance, to give rise to any inappropriate or undue affects.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted Evolve Estates and The Range for further details on the approved plans and expected construction and opening dates.