A bid to allow The Range on the Anglia Retail Park to sell more food as part of its link-up with Iceland has been made to Ipswich Council.

The owner of the retail park, borough-owned Ipswich Borough Assets, has applied for permission for The Range to be able to sell food and other convenience goods from 300 square metres of its 5,440-square metre store.

There are strict limitations on what can be sold from a store on a retail park – the main requirement is that most of the sales area should be devoted to “bulky goods” which are not considered suitable for sale in the town centre. But most stores are allowed some space to sell “non-bulky” items.

The Range does sell a limited amount of non-bulky goods, but this would allow the space to increase. The company has an alliance with Iceland which has seen concessions of the food giant open in some of its larger stores around the country.

MORE: The Range opens at Anglia Retail Park

However, Ipswich Borough Assets chair Colin Kreidewolf said that would not be happening at the Anglia Retail Park: “We are applying for this relaxation on behalf of our client. This application is for a comparatively small area selling food that they will run themselves.

“There will be some Iceland products on sale there – alongside some other brands – but it will not be a concession as there is in some of their other stores.”

Mr Kreidewolf is a member of the borough’s planning and development committee, but will have to leave the meeting when this application is discussed.

The Range’s neighbour at the Anglia Retail Park, B&M, already sells a significant selection of food alongside household goods and there have been discussions about a new discount supermarket opening there.

MORE: Could a new supermarket be heading for retail park?

The application statement prepared for IBA says: “The proposed development looks to further diversify the goods on offer available at the Park which is consistent with the scale of convenience goods expected in the stores operated by The Range.

“The level of trade drawn from the town centre is imperceptible and will have no significant adverse effects on the convenience, function and attraction of the Centre. The limited function of the proposed development will also ensure that it does not affect the (Meredith Road) district centre’s important function as a local convenience goods and service offer for the surrounding local population.”