Proposals have been submitted for a major Ottery St Mary site to allow storage, offices, professional services or light industry. East Devon District Council’s planning committee will debate it on 24 March amid local disagreement despite officer approval.
Plans for a sizeable employment site on the edge of an East Devon town look set to cause a showdown at a crunch planning meeting next week.
Proposals have been submitted for a significant plot in Ottery St Mary to create space for a range of employment purposes.
The application states that a mix of used could be possible, including storage and distribution, professional services or offices and light industrial uses.
The scheme is set to be debated by East Devon District Council’s planning committee next week (Tuesday 24 March) because while planning officers are recommending approval, local members disagree.
The plot – 2,640 square metres in size, which is equivalent to around two-thirds of an acre – is bordered by the existing Finnimore Industrial Estate to the east, and community hospital and housing to the west and north, respectively.
The proposal is an outline application, meaning even if passed, another application will be required to finalise certain details.
Ottery St Mary Town Council has submitted a formal opposition to the scheme, partly based on how the buildings could look and the business hours being proposed for the site.
“The look of the buildings is essential as the proposed site is at the entrance to Ottery,” the parish council said.
“There is a need for comprehensive landscaping to address the site appearance and potential issues with flooding.
“And as previously commented, the council feels that the hours of operation should be reduced to 6pm except Saturday where it should be 1pm.”
The application states that operating hours on the site would be from 8am-8pm Monday-Saturday.
Councillor Vicky Johns (Independent, Ottery St Mary), said while the land had been designated as employment land for some time, it did not mean it had to be industrial.
“The application is for business types which can be for a number of activities, leading to excessive noise in an area that has adjacent residential areas and a local hospital,” she said.
“This will cause a lot of noise and disturbance for neighbouring residential properties and indeed the hospital.”
She also echoed concerns about how the site needed to look if it were approved.
“The site is in a very prominent area of Ottery and is seen as soon as you enter the town, this means the site needs to stay attractive and the current scheme does not show that being done in any way,” she said.
The council said a total of 12 objections had been received and one comment in favour.
The application will be debated by East Devon’s planning committee next week.
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