Wyevale Garden Centres could be facing a long wait before the Blooms Garden Centre at Cardiff, which was destroyed by fire in November 2013, is re-built.
The Blooms brand is owned by Wyevale, who leased the store from Blooms Properties Limited Partnership.
Planning permission for a new garden centre was originally granted in 2010 but re-approved in November to allow for a full replacement following the fire. That permission is due to expire in March - but, according to an item on Wales OnLine, planning consultancy Nathaniel Litchfield & Partners has asked the local planning authority to renew the planning permission to allow the landlords another five years to start the project.
The centre, at St Mellons, was reduced to a skeleton of metal girders when 35ft-flames engulfed the building.
The planning application sought to build a garden centre with an 8,000 sq.m. main building, 1,000 sq.m. of open-sided space and a 4,000 sq.m. outdoor area “of a similar design that is fit for purpose and able to satisfy the demands of modern day garden centre customers”.
The developers asked for parking for 200 cars and 22 bikes.
The original centre also hosted a number of concessions, including Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Cotton Traders, The Works, Pampurred Pets and Ponden Home Interiors, but the future of these under the new plan is unclear.
Nathaniel Litchfield & Partners said in a covering letter to the planners: “The planning application for the site was submitted before the economic crisis and gained planning permission during the heart of the economic downturn.
“Implementation during economic unrest has proven to be difficult but now the economic climate has recently become more stable our client is keen to ensure that the extant employment permission is kept alive.”
Cardiff Council are expected to make a decision on the renewal before the end of January.
Wales OnLine report a spokeswoman for Wyevale Garden Centres as saying: “We have been working closely with our landlord in progressing the re-build of Cardiff Blooms following the devastating fire in November 2013.”