A Mega-shed Near You

A Mega-Shed near You
John Cooper, Chairman of Test Valley District Group

The northern part of Test Valley has been divided by controversy over a planning application by developers, Goodmans, to build an enormous warehouse and distribution centre beside the A303 on what was the old Andover airfield, now restyled the Andover Business Park. At a junction on the strategic road network it was an obvious target for this type of development, a 24/7 operation with Tesco as the likely occupant. It is planned to be rather larger than Terminal 5 at Heathrow with huge implications for HGV movements at all hours of the day and night; a major impact on the countryside and issues of light and noise pollution.

Though the application has only emerged as one of wide public interest in the last 2 years, it was identified as an emerging problem over 4 years ago by CPRE Test Valley.

Andover has long benefited from a successful local economy with full employment though the jobs themselves have been heavily weighted towards relatively low paid and low skilled work. It has long been argued that because of this Andover's young people have suffered from a poverty of aspiration with the town developing something of a downbeat image.

When the Borough initially proposed a Business Park for the airfield site, some of which was brownfield, CPRE did not object because we perceived that there could benefits to the community at large from new businesses requiring higher skills, higher qualifications and arguably paying higher wages. However our initial support was undermined by the Borough proposing to double the size of the site and subsequently enlarging its scope to include B8 activities - many might have thought this an innocent change but opened it up to warehouse and distribution activities. We opposed both proposals in a submission to the Borough in December 2004 but the Councillors appeared heedless of the potential. The bigger Business Park with the go ahead for B8 activities was now in the sights of bigger developers.

When Goodmans put forward their application early in 2007 it quickly polarised attitudes; a very well organised STOP campaign (Stop Tesco's Oversized Plan) largely based in the villages most at risk countered later by a GO campaign from those in the area arguing for jobs of any sort.The STOP campaign was splendidly organised and while supporting their aims we did not have the resources to get heavily involved. John Moon and others played a key role in researching and promoting the CPRE view to Test Valley BC and, with STOP, we composed a joint letter of opposition for the local paper and made a contribution to their funding.

We had early success when the Borough's Northern Planning Committee rejected the proposal by one vote. However, the Borough Planning Control Committee passed it overwhelmingly, on the votes of councillors without a local constituency. The planners were then suggesting that if taken to appeal, the developer would succeed and the Borough would be responsible for costs. In our view both highly doubtful claims.

Tesco now appear to have fallen out with the developers and in any event await the outcome of their appeal for a similar 'Mega-shed' on the Pyestock site in Farnborough.

We can only wait on developments. If there is a lesson for CPRE it is that we must always look critically at emerging planning ideas as they are developing – the early consultative stages of the Local Development Framework. We saw the issue emerging but it may be that we could have fought harder and longer at that early stage. A real opportunity for a new Business park to diversify and enhance Andover's economy now looks likely to be lost.

May 2009