THE owner of a Basingstoke retail park set for redevelopment has blamed the borough council for a delay to demolition, and says the vacant site is now attracting anti-social behaviour.

Brighton Hill Retail Park was set to be demolished at the end of August by owners Equation Properties Limited, which wants to replace the retail park with ‘commercial accommodation’.

Read more: End of an era: Brighton Hill Retal Park set for demolition

The site has been empty since the last retailer, Carpetright, vacated on June 24, but the owner is unable to push ahead with plans because an application submitted to the borough council in January has still not been decided.

Equation Properties has asked to replace the retail park, which has been in the town for more than 30 years, with two showrooms and trade counters, operating 24-horus a day, seven days a week.

The applicant said the new development would create between 184 and 415 new full-time jobs.

However, the company has criticised the borough council for dragging its heels in deciding the plans.

A spokesperson said: “We submitted our application to transform this vacant, brownfield site all the way back in January, but now it’s September, and we still don’t have a decision.

“While we await an outcome, valuable jobs and investment are on hold, along with the clearance of the site, which is now attracting a fair amount of antisocial behaviour.

Read more: Plans submitted to develop Brighton Hill Retail Park

“We want to work positively with the council on this project and our door is very much open. In recent weeks, we have reduced the height of the proposed buildings by two metres, introduced a new planted acoustic barrier and enhanced the elevations.

“We are committed to delivering jobs and investment on a sustainably located site and we really want to get started.”

The borough council said at the beginning of August that a “number of concerns” had been raised about the redevelopment which the applicant was addressing, resulting a delay to the decision-making process.

A spokesperson added: “This is often the case with large scale applications where applicants seek to narrow the areas of concern. It is expected that a decision will be made shortly.”

More than seven weeks later and a decision has still not been made.

Councillor Andy Konieczko, Liberal Democrat councillor for Brighton Hill, previously raised concerns that the site could become derelict if the application is refused.

The borough council's head of planning, sustainability and infrastructure Ruth Ormella said: “Additional information was submitted by the applicant on 8 September and we are currently consulting on this with the county council, urban design and environmental health.

"Once the deadline for this information has been reached later this month, the case officer will look to move forward and determine the application.”