A proposal to convert a Park Road building into a new grocery store has been granted planning permission.

The planning application submitted this year proposed internal work to create a retail grocery store at the former home of ZipX on Park Road, the building to the immediate west of Victoria Hall.

Planning documents said that the store is intended to focus primarily on customers ordering food online through the grocery delivery service Pronto, with only a small number of customers expected to visit in person.

A report by a planning officer said: “It is anticipated that there will be 30 to 50 walk-in customers per day.

“However, the site is in proximity to the City Hall and Bull’s Head car parks and there is ample streetside parking along Park Road, Washington Street to the east and Wesley Street to the west, all within walking distance to the site, which can be used by staff and customers. As such there is no need for parking on site.”

Drawings in the application produced by CTX Design Group show a walk-in cooler and freezer, an interior area to store alcohol and new entrance doors, along with a grocery store with the expected aisles, coolers and checkouts.

According to planning documents, the Corporation of Hamilton initially raised concerns about parking for customers along with how goods would be delivered and unloaded.

A spokesman for the project responded that Pronto operates a warehouse and small convenience store on Elliott Street and found that the vast majority of customers were ordering online.

“This location presents the opportunity for walk-in traffic, and that is anticipated to be shopping for convenience items by pedestrians on their way from work to Bull’s Head parking lot or City Hall parking lot, both which are within one block of the proposed store,” the spokesman said.

“To be clear, this store is not intended to compete with MarketPlace or Supermart, where people will park to do their weekly shop.

“The focus of Pronto remains on deliveries and some convenience items for workers on their way to their car in the existing proximate parking lots.”

The applicant revised its plans to highlight loading areas and trash storage areas for the project and the corporation said it had no objections to the revised plans.