A SIGNIFICANT warehouse development on farmland, which, if approved, could create more than 1,000 jobs, will be determined by the council tomorrow (November 6).
Specialist industrial and logistics developer, Newlands Development, will have its revised plans for Basingstoke Gateway at Oaklands Farm, Dummer, determined by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's Development Control Committee on Wednesday, November 6.
The company describes the proposed development near Junction 7 of the M3 as a "high-quality, net zero carbon logistics and employment development."
If approved, an estimated 1,070 new on-site operational jobs could be created, along with a new half-hourly bus service between Dummer and Basingstoke which would receive £1.6m in funding.
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Having previously been rejected twice, Newlands submitted a materially different planning application to the one that was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate.
It held extensive community consultation over the last 18 months and engagement with local stakeholder groups including Basingstoke College of Technology, M3 Job Club, Dummer Parish Council, and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Some of the changes include an overall reduction in floor space from the previous appeal scheme by 22 per cent - more than 260,000 sq ft - plus reduced height, scale, and massing of each unit, protecting views from Dummer and beyond.
The largest unit is now 255,000 sq ft compared to 806,000 sq ft in the appeal scheme - a 69 per cent reduction in size. Furthermore, the cladding design has been revised using an environmental colour assessment to ensure the buildings assimilate well with their surroundings.
Concerns were voiced over the location of a proposed roundabout, but plans have been revised, relocating and reducing the roundabout in size to minimise the number of trees removed within the central reservation on the A30. Its location has also been agreed in collaboration with the adjacent landowners.
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Newlands says it has engaged "positively" with council officers to address the appeal inspector’s concerns, reducing the scale of the proposals while enhancing the landscape mitigation.
The company says the scheme will deliver "significant benefit to Basingstoke" and will help to address a "longstanding need for storage and distribution uses within the borough on a site that benefits from a draft allocation in the emerging Local Plan."
A spokesperson for Newlands said: "Positive engagement with the council, community, NHS trust and local groups has got us to this point.
"We are delighted to present this application to the Development Control Committee and are hopeful that the positive engagement, social and economic benefits, as well as the changes made to the previous scheme are recognised."
The application is being recommended for approval by the Basingstoke and Deane planning officers and is set to be determined on Wednesday, November 6.
Further information on the application can be found at: https://basingstokegateway.co.uk/ and the application is available on Basingstoke and Deane’s planning portal using reference [23/03120/FUL].
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