THE developer behind plans for a distribution warehouse at Basingstoke Gateway, the land near Junction 7 of the M3, has released an early draft of what it now hopes to do with the area.

Yesterday, Newlands Development revealed that it plans to submit a new planning application to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, with revised dimensions and a new occupier: supermarket chain Lidl.

In October, members of Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council’s development control committee refused Newlands’ previous application - understood to be earmarked for Amazon - despite officers recommending it for approval.

Six months after the plans for an Amazon warehouse were initially approved, councillors voted down the slightly amended scheme in an extraordinary set of circumstances after a parish council threatened to take legal action.

The proposal is now 65 per cent smaller than the previous application - down from 271,000 square metres to 101,000 square metres. The height of the buildings has also been reduced between two and three metres across the site, while a proposed landscaping ‘bund’ to be located on the southern side of the M3 has been removed.

Newlands added that it is “delighted” to announce Lidl as the new intended occupier. They would be located in the largest of the three units shown on the drawings, with the occupiers of the other two yet to be revealed.

The firm says it now intends to carry out community consultation ahead of submitting the new application.