AMBITIOUS proposals for a £75million business park close to the Cheltenham Road roundabout have been given the green light by planning chiefs.
The ‘Avon Business Park’ was put forward by developers St Modwen on land to the south of the current sprawling Vale Park site and the 50 acre site could create up to 1,000 jobs once completed.
Warehouses, industrial units and offices together with a pub, restaurant, hotel and car showroom are among the businesses planned for the vast new site which is spread over the equivalent of more than 50 football pitches.
As part of the application, the often congested Cheltenham Road roundabout on the A46 will be improved to accomodate the entrance to the proposed new park.
The plans follow a public consultation held in November 2015, where local residents were able to take a closer look at the proposals and submit comments.
Planning chiefs gave the thumbs-up to the scheme at a meeting last Thursday (April 25) after Highways England confirmed the proposals to tackle the expected traffic increase from the new development were acceptable.
Despite their approval, transport chiefs have insisted further work should be carried to find funding for a more substantial improvement of the affected junctions on the A46.
Town council chiefs have given the project their support and backed the job opportunities created by the proposed new park.
Despite the backing, councillors did express their concerns over flooding with the Charity Brook running through the site and have called for High Street retailers to be barred from the development to prevent another out-of-town shopping centre being created.
“There are concerns over the road infrastructure, currently the roads including the roundabout cannot cope with the traffic, and this development will put further strain on this. This should be further investigated,” a town council spokesperson said.
“A lorry park should be part of the scheme. At present, many lorries delivering to Vale Park will park in residential areas around Davies Road.
“This has a negative impact for residents, in terms of noise, pollution, appearance, and the general waste that some of these lorries leave behind,”
The Vale of Evesham Civic Society was among 24 objectors to the application which was voted through by a majority.
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