By Kevin Shalvey
Staff Writer

Hannaford’s application to construct a 36,000-square-foot grocery store on Jenkins Road and Route 101 will soon go before the planning board for final approval.

On Monday, Oct. 23, the grocery chain will seek final approval for the 6.6-acre parcel.

If approved, it would be the sixth Hannaford supermarket within 10 miles of the proposed site ­ three in Manchester, one on Mast Road in Goffstown and one on Colby Court in Bedford.

The proposed supermarket would be built on two lots on the southeasterly corner of Route 101 and Jenkins Road, abutting homes on Ledgewood Drive. According to the application, the store could be as close as 30 feet from some homes, and the maximum height of the proposed store could be 48 feet.

“There has been a significant amount of opposition,” Bedford Planning Director Karen White said.

Much of it coming from Save Our Town, a group of concerned Bedford residents.

One Save Our Town member, Michael Hunter, said the group’s views are summarized in a recent letter to the editor, which read, “Over months of attending hearings on Hannaford, I can report that the board seemingly has bent over backwards to assist, promote and cater to Hannaford to bring in an oversized development into a residential neighborhood.”

Hannaford’s initial application was submitted about two years ago, when the planning board was conducting a two-year Route 101 corridor study, White said. The study was meant to see how the intersection could better suit the town, while “retaining the feel of a small town,” White said.

The study showed the addition of a traffic signal would benefit travel on Route 101, White said. When Hannaford submitted its proposed, plans had already been made to expand the intersection with two lanes each way and a traffic signal by 2008, she said.

In response to resident concerns that the new supermarket would be noisy and create more traffic, Hannaford hired an independent company to study the intersection, White said.

“This study showed that the new traffic signal would generate more traffic than the supermarket,” White said.

This study, White said, was then verified by planning board engineers. While Bedford residents are concerned about traffic from Merrimack to access the supermarket, White said, the traffic light alone will make Jenkins Road a more convenient way to drive onto Route 101.

Noise is another concern of residents, White said. So, Hannaford conducted another study.

“It basically indicated that at night, there’s going to be an imperceptible change in the noise,” White said.

In the United States, Hannaford employs more than 26,000 people and runs more than 150 supermarkets and drug stores. It is a member of Brussels-based Delhaize Group, a $16.6 billion company, according the corporate Web site.

The nine members of the planning board will vote on the grocery chain’s proposal on Oct. 23, White said.

“Hopefully,” White said, “we’ve already answered most people’s questions.”

Save Our Town members said they’re not convinced.

According to the group, more than 1,000 residents are against Hannaford building the supermarket. It is, the group said, a “town-wide” voice opposing the supermarket.

The planning board meeting will take place Monday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., at the Bedford Meeting Room, BCTV Studio, 10 Meetinghouse Road.