SIX new buildings could be build at the controversial Oakdown Farm site in Dummer if a developer is given the go ahead by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council despite its two previous applications being rejected.
Newlands Developments has submitted a third application to the council for a distribution hub on the land next to Junction 7 on the M3 after its previous scheme was thrown out by a planning inspector in December 2022.
The revised application includes eight units of varying sizes, across six development plots providing 920,000 sq ft of storage and distribution floorspace, a reduction of over 80,000 sq ft from the previous plan.
READ MORE: Newlands Development: New proposal for Oakdown Farm revealed
The largest building would provide 23,830 sq ft of floor space while the smallest would be 3,252 sq ft. A proposed new roundabout would also be reduced in size.
In its application Newlands said the buildings have been "reduced in size" and are now "greener and even more sensitively designed".
The application reads: "This is achieved while still delivering significant economic benefits within storage and distribution floorspace and satisfying BDBC’s (the council's) long-standing need for such uses that remains unmet almost a decade after it was first identified in the council’s evidence base for the adopted Basingstoke local plan."
Also proposed is a new bus stop within the site to "ensure it can be serviced by public transport at the operational stage".
This will be the developer's third application after it submitted a revised application to the council for the hub, which included plans to build a Lidl warehouse.
Members of the council's development control committee refused Newlands’ previous application - understood to be earmarked for Amazon.
The developer then filed an appeal against the decision but this was also thrown out by an inspector following a four-day hearing.
SEE ALSO: Councillors and protesters react to new Oakdown Farm plans in Dummer
John Barker, the developer's senior development director, previously told the Gazette he hopes residents will back these plans because there would be a "15 per cent reduction" in the size of the development and it has been put together with a "truly landscape-led approach".
He hopes residents will be pleased to hear that much of the site would be dedicated to green infrastructure.
He previously said: "This could be anything from community orchards to bee hives. I think the key thing here is we are much more targeted towards sustainability and it will be a Net Zero Carbon development."
He continued: "There was an unmet need for this type of development in Basingstoke within the local plan and no other sites have come forward."
The new proposal also promises that £1.5m of sustainable travel infrastructure will be secured.
Concerns have been raised about the application at a public consultation event held on Wednesday, November 15 last year, where residents and councillors discussed the revised plans.
The Clean Air Green Environment (CAGE) group was set up to oppose the Basingstoke Gateway proposals for a distribution hub shortly after they were first revealed.
READ ALSO: Residents react after consultation on Oakdown Farm proposal
A spokesperson for the group, Christine Northam, previously said: "This development has been amended but is still almost a million square feet in size, in the middle of the open countryside."
Malcolm Donald, who attended the consultation event, added: "I've not got a problem with it. If you went to any motorway up and down the country they all have these big warehouse units lining them.
"My only concern is the amount of increased traffic this will bring. It's already bad compared to what it used to be with all the new houses built in the area, but this will make it even worse. Then there's the proposed new hospital to be taken into account.
"That short journey from the M3 into Basingstoke is becoming a nightmare and it's not going to get better anytime soon."
It has not been made clear what the units will be used for.
To view the application visit the council's website using the application number 23/03120/FUL.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel