Business village expansion plans are approved
A business centre near Penkridge is set to expand after plans for 12 new office cabins were passed.
The latest proposals for Dunston Business Village will also include an extension to an internal access road and car parking facilities, as well as tree and hedge planting.
The site, which has been redeveloped from former farm buildings and won awards for regeneration, provides office space for rent just off Junction 13 of the M6.
There have been a number of applications put forward to convert buildings on the site into office use over the past 15 years and the latest was approved by South Staffordshire Council’s planning committee on Tuesday.
A report to the committee said: Dunston Business Village has an existing 23 log cabins. This proposal seeks permission for an additional 12 log cabins. The existing internal road will be extended and a new parking area created, providing 72 additional spaces.
“Throughout the course of the application the size of the parking area has been reduced to reflect the Councils Parking Standards and to increase the biodiversity of the site.
“Dunston Business Village is a redevelopment of a cluster of redundant agricultural buildings of various vernaculars. The conversion of the buildings to offices for small and medium sized businesses began in 2006 and is ongoing following permission for the conversion of buildings which were allocated as car parking as per the original consent.”
The plans were recommended for approval by planning officers ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.
Concerns
But objector Ian Marsh raised concerns about over development, highway safety and the effects of noise and light pollution on nearby residents.
A statement from Mr Marsh, which was read out at the meeting, said: “The original application for Dunston Business Village was confined to the original curtilage of the farm buildings. Since its inception there has been a gradual and deliberate creep into the agricultural land. In a bid to maximise capacity, many of the single-storey buildings have been replaced with twin storey buildings and existing barns used for car parking have been developed for office space.
“With internal development at capacity and car parks overcrowded, the site is seeking to develop into the surrounding fields with negative impact on the environment. The land outlined in this application is defined as agricultural land and any development is a clear disregard to this.
“During the development of DBV a great emphasis was placed on the use of public transport for commuting workers. There is still however only one bus per hour running past DBV in either direction. Several hundred vehicles now use the DBV site per day, causing severe congestion both exiting the site and also entering from the A449, which is governed by national speed limit.
“DBV operates seven days a week from early morning to late at night. As properties at Swan Lane are approximately 50m away, residents experience increased noise pollution and disturbance from vehicles coming and going.”
