A planning application has been submitted to Havering Council to bulldoze the former TDI Autos at 3-7 The Parade, along Southend Arterial Road (A127), and build a new retail unit.
This unit would have a total of 538 sq metres of floorspace, spread over two storeys – although the plans do not make clear what type of shop would move into the site.
Planning documents – drawn up by Spatial Design Architects on behalf of applicant GDI Developments LLP – reveal that the ground level would feature a “large commercial floor area”, as well as staff areas and a loading bay.
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An internal staircase is proposed to lead up to a mezzanine level, providing extra retail floorspace.
Also planned are six parking spaces, including one disabled space, and stands for six bikes.
According to the planning documents, an initial pre-application enquiry was submitted to the council in November 2018, to see if a retail scheme was likely to be approved at the site.
This was later followed by a pre-application meeting with planning officers in February 2024, and with Transport for London (TfL) in November 2024.
Planning officers raised concerns about the site’s location on the A127, which they said would likely “result in noise and disturbance”.
The council also put forward a “comprehensive redevelopment” of the site at pre-application discussions, which would include the regeneration of 1-2 The Parade as well as “other neighbouring land parcels”.
However, the planning statement said this approach is “not currently feasible” for the applicant.
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At a pre-application meeting with TfL, officers raised the Gallows Corner works and said they wanted to ensure the network was “not compromised” during the planned window for the closure.
Spatial Design Architects said in the planning statement that all feedback received during these consultations has been addressed and that the applicant has management plans to ensure “minimal disruption” during construction.
Havering Council is expected to make a decision on the application by September 2.
If approved, building works are expected to start in June 2026.
