Newark and Sherwood District Council’s planning committee approve initial plans by Lindum Group Ltd to create 12,008sqm employment development at Overfield Park, Winthorpe
Initial plans for a new development on the outskirts of Newark which could create up to 120 jobs has been approved.
Lindum Group submitted a planning application to create a 12,008sqm employment development, with associated internal access roads, landscaping and drainage, on land at Overfield Park in Winthorpe next to the intersection of the A1 and A46.
The site, historically part of the RAF Winthorpe site, would see three units, each with their own parking, and proposed tree planting around the periphery of the site to partially screen the units, service yards and car parks.
There will also be the creation of ponds on the site along the southern edge of the site and break up the regularity of tree planting, renewable technologies such as solar panels, and natural ventilation to the warehouse areas.
There are also plans for a shared footpath/cycleway to the southern side of Godfrey Drive, which will link with the neighbouring units to the East and also join to the wider network at the A17 roundabout.
Newark Town Council has no objection to the principal of the development but did say that existing hedgerows on site must be retained and that the developer is required to provide new, improved and enhanced pedestrian and cycle access to the site.
The application was discussed at Newark and Sherwood District Council’s planning committee meeting on Thursday (December 4), where business manager lead Oliver Scott said that the plans could have “significant socio-economic benefits”:
“This is a big development,” he said, “It will have an adverse impact but the potential for landscape buffering is something that will be resolved later, and could deliver significant socio-economic benefits in its favour, so it is recommended for approval.”
David Armstrong, spokesman for Coddington Parish Council, said at the meeting that the parish council objected to the plans because the application was “inconsistent with the Adopted Allocations Development Plan”, and pointed out the increase in traffic through Coddington due to traffic congestion:
“This is an employment development without any improvements to the A1/A46/A17 junction and should be rejected,” he said.
“Further development on the A17 should not be approved until the dualling of the A46 has been completed and there should be adequate screening of the development.”
Robert Jaines, speaking at the meeting on behalf of the Lindum Group, said: “The plans could see in excess of 120 new jobs, with a gross development value of £16million. The site will be attractive to existing local companies and could potentially draw in companies from further afield in the Newark area and will result in significant economic benefits for the district.
“We firmly support the officers’ recommendation for approval and hope the committee follow with a positive recommendation.”
Discussions over having a hotel near Newark Showground have been ongoing for a number of years, and Peter Harris said that he was minded to support the plans, but was surprised there was no hotel planned for the site.
District council member for Winthorpe, Linda Dales, said: “It’s scrub land and I’ve never seen crops growing on it and I don’t think there are strong enough planning reasons to refuse this, however I represent a ward that will be affected by not only this development but all those looming on it.
“I think it’s time to request the district council does its own impact analysis of what the A46 widening and I appreciate it’s not for the committee to decide tonight but I think it’s time as a committee. We have a responsibility to decide if all these applications come through, what’s going to happen?”
Simon Forde said that he was concerned over the impact on the visual landscape, and that following similar developments in Balderton, this would be akin to “death by 1,000 cuts”.
Celia Brooks added that while she had concerns on the impact of the villages nearby, she also said that the land was not suitable as farmland or for housing, so there were not any grounds to turn it down.
Vice chairman David Moore added that he had concerns over safety of access to the site from the three main roads and that HGVs trying to access the site from the A46 by crossing the mid-section “scares the heck” out of him.
The plans in outline were approved by the committee, subject to a number of conditions including details of access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale to be approved by the Local Planning Authority before each phase begins.
