Wilmslow Town Council is objecting to Royal London's latest plans to build a new permanent car park on their Alderley Road campus.
The Planning Committee met on Monday, 24th August, and agreed to "recommend refusal on the grounds that no exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated at this time for this development in the greenbelt".
The latest planning application (reference 15/3488M) from Wilmslow's largest employer is for a permanent car park with 126 spaces on the site of their current temporary car park.
Royal London were granted permission to use some land as a temporary car park in November 2012 provided the land was returned to a grassed field by December 2015, unless a further application was approved by the Local Planning Authority.
The company has also submitted an application (reference 15/3554M) to extend the use of this temporary car park until December 2017. The Planning Committee agreed to support the extension of the temporary planning permission but stated that it "hopes that a permanent solution will be found in the near future".
At the end of last year Royal London submitted a planning application for a permanent car park (reference 14/5536M) with 90 spaces on land at the front of the campus, on a grassed area adjacent to the existing Lodge car park.
This planning application, reference 14/5536M, is still to be determined. However, Wilmslow Town Council's Planning Committee also recommended refusal of this application, which they considered in February 2015, on the grounds that "no exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated for this development in the Green Belt". The Committee also highlighted the issue of flooding on the proposed site.
Speaking last month, Royal London's Head of Procurement & Facilities, Neil Kilshaw said: "We have been discussing our plans with the Council. Once it becomes clear which of our two planning applications the Council favours we will withdraw the other application."
Royal London announced plans in March to create an additional 450 new jobs at its Alderley Road campus and build new, modern offices to the east of the existing campus to accommodate the addition members of staff.
The company currently employs around 900 full time staff in Wilmslow and wants to increase the number to around 1,350.
The Royal London campus was identified in the Local Plan for mixed use development site, delivering 75 dwellings, a hotel and 17-24,000 sq m of employment space.
Comments
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The Green Belt is a communities 'Crown Jewels .
Nibbling away at this means you have exchanged a precious, finite resource for more concrete sprawl.
This issue has been going on since 1997. We hear mention of a green travel plan but with no actual information being provided to demonstrate it's impact.
I only hope CEC will come to the same conclusion rather than capitulate as they did when the last temporary application was approved. I know as I attended the planning meeting.
This is green belt land, and as RL still has office space available, so well done to the Town Council.. RL provide a mini bus back and to from the train station for the staff they employ, so I am sure they can find a solution to this issue within the year granted for the temporary car park
We have to save our greenbelt, and support the Wilmslow Vision
Josie Jones fails to understand why RL's employees do not park in the areas surrounding the campus. All the neighbouring roads have short-timed parking restrictions; before these were implemented the roads were choked full of RL's employees parked vehicles, obstructing other & local traffic movements, littering the roads where they parked, hurling obscenities at house holders attempting to exit and/or enter their properties - it is the restrictive & enforced parking "that dun it" Josie, not the good neighbourliness of the RL parkers.
planning applications of this nature should carry presumed consent.