Gateway Development latest
Planners in Warwick have recommended Sir Peter Rigby's controversial £250m Gateway development be approved by councillors at a crunch vote next week.
The decision was deferred at a meeting in December as the planning committee was spilt on its support for the manufacturing and distribution park on green belt land. But several of the councillors who opposed the scheme have since been replaced following Warwick District Council's general meeting in May and the local authority is now facing questions about the move.
Planning officers have said they are "minded to approve" the latest application, which councillors will scrutinise at a meeting on 12 June 2013. If the proposals are given the go ahead then the scheme will be referred to local government secretary Eric Pickles who will decide whether to call in the project.
Coventry City Council has approved the scheme, covering the part of the application site within the authority's administrative area. But to be given the green light it also needs the nod from Warwick District Council, and possible the secretary of state.
Warwick District Council deferred its decision so further information could be provided and a report be undertaken by property consultancy GL Hearn.
The developer of the Gateway project claimed it has the potential to generate more than £440m in increased productivity. It is also claimed that up to 14,000 jobs – 6,000 on the logistics park, 4,000 on the technology park and an extra 4,000 at Whitley Business Park, where Jaguar's headquarters are located – would be created.
However, the GL Hearn report now puts the figure at 6,370 new jobs, with a further 2,000 coming from companies relocating. The estimate is also based on the development being fully built out and occupied. Although it does not include the 4,000 jobs quoted for Whitley Business Park.
Since it was deferred in December, there have been further objections, taking the total to almost 800. A host of parish councils have been vocally opposed, alongside public and environmental groups.
The plans have caused controversy because of its use of green belt land and a potential conflict of interest with Coventry Airport owner Sir Peter Rigby, also the chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Others have raised doubts about the level of investment and jobs figured quoted. Baginton Parish Council has added the developer's job creation prospects are "over-stated, unrealistic and unachievable". It is a view echoed by other councils, with some putting the potential jobs figure as low as 2,000.
Others have disputed how much interest there has been from prospective occupiers. Jaguar Land Rover, meanwhile, has reiterated its support for the development.
In their new report, planning officers concluded: "Overall it is considered that the proposed development would generate significant economic and employment benefits for Warwick District and the sub-region. The proposed development would also provide a range of other benefits for Warwick."
Warwick District Council has come under criticism after replacing all three of the councillors on the planning committee who opposed the scheme, alongside one of the members backing it.
The authority said it was a decision taken annually by the council and it was usual for memberships of committees to have some changes every year.
A statement added: "With regard to the fear of bias of councillors towards an application there is clear guidance in this area with regard to the determination of applications on their individual merits and requirements for councillors under the 'adopted code of conduct' and 'natural justice' for councillors which must be followed."
Plans for the Gateway development, which were submitted in September, can be divided into five parts with approval sought for a total space covering more than 4.7 million sq ft.