Hilsea Industrial Estate plans given backing despite the impact on 'severely congested' surrounding roads

Property developer Wrenbridge has applied for permission to demolish the headquarters of former steelwork contractor Conder Allslade to make way for seven separate warehouses. But concerns raised by neighbouring businesses about traffic in the area mean a final decision will have to be made by Portsmouth City Council’s planning committee, which is due to consider the scheme on Wednesday (June 21).

The 4.5-acre site between Limberline Road and Norway Road was bought by Fiera Real Estate and Wrenbridge last year for £9m in a deal property consultancy Vail Williams said was evidence of a ‘boom in demand for industrial land and buildings’. Plans were drawn up over the following months – and included pre-application consultation with planning officers – before being submitted to the council in January

Wrenfield said the use of brownfield land for industrial purposes meant the development would have a limited impact on traffic.

‘As a brownfield regeneration project, the existing network and access will be largely serving the same use currently found on site,’ a statement submitted with its application said. ‘Where improvement on density and employment levels are proposed this is counted by modal shifts in travel to work and replacement of countered parking with electric charging and better cycle facilities.’

It added that this, combined with public transport availability nearby made the development ‘acceptable’.

The submitted plans include the provision of 102 parking spaces across the site with each warehouse also given dedicate cycle storage provision. But all six objections from the owners of the surrounding units warned that increased use of the land would be ‘a bad mistake’.

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John Hughes, the owner of Hughes Waste, said traffic arrangements for the industrial estate were ‘in the Dark Ages’.

‘Whilst I welcome regeneration as a general principle, there needs to be highways improvements made in connection with this application,’ he said. ‘The roads leading to Limberline Road are already severely congested at peak and other periods. Often the traffic backs up along Gunstore Road to the traffic lights at the junction of Norway Road and Copnor Road.

‘A big new development on the same estate should leave a lasting positive legacy and not a legacy of further continual congestion on roads that appear already to be way beyond their design capacity.’

A report published ahead of the meeting of the planning committee says discussions have been held between the council and developer around these issues but no objection was made by the highways department, subject to a series of conditions being approved.

These include installing double yellow lines opposite access points to the site to give lorries enough room to run and that the accesses must be built before any other work starts on the site.

‘There is no objection to the proposed industrial and commercial buildings both in terms of the principle due to the site’s designation as an employment area nor the design, scale and layout of the buildings,’ the report recommending planning permission be granted adds.

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