news

success – Leconfield Road, Nanpantan

We are pleased to report that Bowbridge Homes’ appeal against refusal of their application has been allowed. Ably marshalled through the process by nineteen47, who led on planning and layout design, the Public Inquiry took place in March. Unusually, Charnwood Borough Council withdraw its reasons for refusal following cross-examination by Bowbridge’s Counsel, Isabella Tafur of Francis Taylor Building. Landscape evidence was provided by Influence Landscape Planning and Design, and ecology evidence was provided by RammSanderson Ecology Ltd. Highways was not a reason for refusal, despite considerable local opposition. A small but challenging site given the topography.

Northampton Gateway SRFI

We were pleased to receive confirmation that the non-material amendment to the DCO for Northampton Gateway SRFI has been granted by the Secretary of State for Transport.  The amendment allows occupation of some of the warehousing ahead of the rail connection being in place. Segro have constructed the rail terminal, but they require Network Rail to provide the rail connection which is the cause for the delay and hence the need for the amendment to the DCO.  The amendment was controversial locally, due to misplaced concerns over increased traffic, and we were involved in responding to local concerns, and securing agreement from National Highways that the amendment would not lead to an increase in traffic (as the rail terminal is a traffic generator in its own right). SEGRO’s CGI of how the site will look is shown below.

success – Perkins

The Perkins family own Perkins Bar & Bistro on the site of the former Plumtree railway station. The family submitted an application to expand their operations on the same site, adding additional overnight guest accommodation, a dedicated ceremony hall, and a small rear extension to the existing restaurant. Those proposals have been granted consent by Rushcliffe Borough Council. Our Transport Statement supported the application, with the trickiest part being the assessment of car parking demands given the different uses. We surveyed the existing demand and forecast the potential demand, for various different time periods throughout the week, to ensure sufficient spaces could be provided within the site. Design Haus Architecture’s drawing showing the proposed northern elevation of the restaurant extension is shown below.

success – Bardon Hill West

We are pleased to report North West Leicestershire District Council’s resolution to grant consent to Harworth Group’s hybrid application known as Bardon Hill West. The application sought full consent for five employment units totalling 2,719sqm for light industry, general industry, and/or storage/distribution use. Outline consent was sought for 4,000sqm of the same uses on the remainder of the site. There were a number of engineering challenges posed by the relatively small sloping site. We carried out extensive ground modelling to understand the earthworks and assist the masterplanning. That overlapped with the drainage strategy set out in our Flood Risk Assessment. The design and assessment of the access addressed interactions with the adjacent level crossing, including discussions with Network Rail and Leicestershire County Council to agree mitigation measures. MDG’s masterplan below.