Site of axed Fawley Waterside development granted temporary permission for haulage vehicles and storage

A SITE which was set to become part of a new Waterside town with thousands of new homes has been granted temporary permission to be used by haulage vehicles and for storage.

As reported in the A&T, the £1bn Fawley Waterside project, previously headed by Cadland Estate owner Aldred Drummond, was dropped last June as it was deemed no longer viable.

An outline proposal for the scheme on the former power station site, which would have seen 1,500 homes built in addition to areas of new commercial, civic and employment space, was given the green light by New Forest District Council in mid-2020.

Now Fawley Waterside has applied for retrospective permission until December for the Fawley Road site, to allow the use by a local construction company to store plant machinery and equipment belonging to an air-conditioning and refrigeration company, as well as electric vans imported from China and containers used as mobile accommodation for construction projects and events.

A meeting of the council’s planning committee heard the application also sought permission for the continued use of the site by a haulage company for its HGVs and trailers alongside temporary portacabins that provide office accommodation and rest room facilities.

Fawley Parish Council objected to to the application on the grounds of additional traffic, concerns for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, noise from HGVs and the impact on the environment.

The council also received 21 letters of objection from residents, who raised similar concerns, along with one letter of support.

A report to members recommending approval of the application explained: “A short-term temporary permission until the end of this year would deliver short-term economic benefits and would in principle be justified, pending clarity on the long-term intentions and proposals for the wider power station site.

“The transportation, environmental and amenity impacts of the proposed use have been carefully considered. The proposed use does generate additional HGV and traffic movements on the local road network, but the level of additional traffic generated is not considered to be of a significance that would be harmful to the safety and capacity of the local highway network or to require mitigation.”

The report added: “It has been identified that early morning use of the site associated with the haulage use has given rise to HGV traffic movements that is impacting on residential amenities. “However, provided use of the site does not begin before 6am on weekdays and is further restricted at weekends, then the proposed uses are not considered to result in traffic movements that would have unacceptable amenity impacts, whilst noise on the site itself arising from the proposed use would be within acceptable limits.”

Cllr Malcolm Wade questioned whether the site was right location for what it was being used for, adding: “We had a power station, and there wasn’t a lot of noise. Now there is a commercial operation, there is going to be a significant impact.”

However Cllr Matthew Hartman said he lived nearby and had not experienced issues with noise, nor had he been contacted by residents who had. He added: “That road can take a lot of traffic – in the summer we have hundreds and hundreds of people going to the beach. A few extra lorries – I don’t see a problem with it.”