Tesco bids for longer opening hours at proposed new shop

Tesco has applied for longer opening hours at its proposed new shop in Newbridge.

The supermarket giant is preparing to open a Tesco Express convenience store at what was formerly Newbridge Methodist Church.

The planning permission application, if successful, will amend the maximum opening hours of the store to 6am to 11pm daily.

A legal representative for Tesco indicated in December that Caerphilly County Borough Council could expect to receive the application, after the local authority’s licensing committee granted permission for alcohol sales for the same hours.

At the time, the committee heard the new store might open in late 2025.

The planning agent for the new application, Daniel Botten of ROK Planning Ltd, said the proposed changes were “minor” and in keeping with opening hours the council granted Tesco for its Express store in Highfields Way, Blackwood.

Mr Botten said there would be “no adverse noise impact on the amenity of adjacent properties or land”, and “all amenity considerations have been acknowledged”.

“On this basis, it is argued that this proposal is considered policy compliant, and that local residential properties to the application site will not be adversely affected by extended opening hours,” he added in his letter to the council.

During December’s licensing committee hearing, council environmental health officer Gareth Jones told members he had reservations about plans to sell alcohol from 6am to midnight each day, arguing the store would open in a “very quiet little part of Newbridge”.

Jeremy Bark, the legal representative for Tesco, defended the company’s “incredibly responsible” record of selling alcohol – but in light of the officer’s concerns offered a “compromise” of 6am to 11pm for sales, which the committee then approved.

Concerning the new application, Mr Botten claimed increasing the permitted opening hours “will significantly improve the customer experience and the overall operation of the proposed convenience store”.

He added: “It will assist more generally in supporting the viability of the store, as well as providing local residents with easy access to grocery goods throughout the day.”

The application is currently out for consultation, and can be viewed on the Caerphilly County Borough Council website under reference 25/0005/NCC.