Dacorum granted Timpson a kiosk at Tesco in Tring by 7 votes to 1, after the town council warned it would undercut an existing High Street key shop. One full-time job, open seven days.
Timpson can build a kiosk in the Tesco car park at Tring. Dacorum’s Development Management committee granted planning permission on 13 August, by seven votes to one with one abstention, after Tring Town Council had recommended refusal.
The town council’s case was that Tring does not need it. Its planning committee argued the kiosk would harm the retail mix and the town centre’s function, because the town already has key-cutting facilities, and that the scheme could undermine existing local businesses by concentrating too many similar services in one place (case officer report, item 5b).
What was actually approved
The application is 26/00379/FUL, from Timpson Limited. It covers a single-storey pod on hardstanding in front of the Tesco superstore on London Road, HP23 5NB.
- Size: 2.6m high, 6.55m wide and 2.65m deep, on a low plinth, clad in larch timber with a monopitch roof.
- Retail floorspace: 16.6 square metres.
- What it replaces: an area of pedestrian walkway and trolley storage with seating, measuring 17.5 square metres. No parking spaces are lost.
- Services: dry cleaning, shoe repair, key cutting, jewellery and watch repairs, and engraving.
- Staff: one full-time employee.
- Hours, now a planning condition: 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
Illuminated signage for the pod was dealt with separately and was granted on 9 April 2026 under application 26/00380/ADV.
Why the town council lost the argument
The application went to committee only because the case officer disagreed with the town council. That is the trigger written on the front of the report: “Officer View Contrary to View of Tring Town Council”.
The officer’s reasoning came down to three things.
The site is out of the town centre, but connected to it. National and local policy allow retail outside a centre where the site is well linked to it. The Tesco is about 342m from Tring town centre, with a lit pedestrian footway and a five to ten minute walk to the High Street. On that basis the officer concluded the sequential test was satisfied.
The kiosk is too small to trigger an impact assessment. There is no local floorspace threshold for out-of-centre retail in Dacorum, and the national default trigger is 2,500 square metres. At 16.6 square metres this is a small fraction of that.
An impact assessment was requested anyway. Because the town council had raised the point, and because Core Strategy Policy CS16 covers new shops and commerce, the officer asked for one regardless.
What the retail statement said about the High Street shop
That assessment is a Retail Statement by Rok Planning, dated 30 June 2026 and submitted by Timpson’s agent.
It accepts the town council’s premise. It names Tring Shoe Repair and Key Shop, at 26 High Street, and acknowledges that the existing shop carries out similar services to the proposed pod, including watch repairs, key cutting, passport photos and printing.
Its conclusion is that the two would not really compete. The argument is that the pod is ancillary to the supermarket: shoppers would use it for short jobs while they are already at Tesco, rather than seeking it out for longer repairs. On that reading the effect on the vitality and viability of Tring town centre would be negligible. The officer accepted it.
Whether that holds is the part no document can settle. It is a judgement about shopper behaviour, made by the applicant’s own consultant, and the committee took it at face value.
The vote
Case officer Heather Edey introduced the report. Councillor Guest proposed granting permission and Councillor Maddern seconded it. The vote was seven for, one against, one abstention.
Councillor Patterson declared that he is a member of Tring Town Council and took no part in the discussion or the vote (draft minutes, 13 August 2026).
No neighbour comments or objections were received on the application at all. The council’s Environmental and Community Protection team did not object, and asked only for standard informatives on construction noise and waste. Permission was granted with three conditions: the usual three-year time limit, the opening hours, and compliance with the approved plans.
What it means for you
- If you shop at the Tring Tesco, expect the trolley bay and seating area at the front to be replaced by the kiosk. The car park itself is unchanged.
- If you use the High Street for repairs, nothing closes as a result of this decision. The town council’s concern was about trade drifting out of the centre over time, not an immediate loss.
- If you want to object to something similar, note what worked and what did not here. The town council’s objection did not stop the scheme, but it did force an impact assessment that national policy would not otherwise have required.
- The permission lasts three years. If Timpson does not begin work by August 2029, it lapses.
For other applications in the borough, and how the committee has been deciding them, see our Hemel Hempstead planning news page.
Sources
- Dacorum Borough Council, case officer report for 26/00379/FUL (PDF) for the site description, kiosk dimensions, floorspace, staffing, hours, the sequential test, Tring Town Council’s grounds of objection and the Rok Planning retail statement.
- Development Management committee, 13 August 2026, agenda and draft minutes for the proposer, seconder, declaration of interest, vote and conditions.
Draft minutes are subject to confirmation at the committee’s next meeting.
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