PLANNING chiefs have reluctantly given the go ahead for a controversial business park plan. They have given Charles Topham and Sons permission to put up and refurbish industrial buildings at Deakins Business Park off The Hall Coppice, Egerton. The site is surrounded by houses and more than 100 letters of objection were sent in by local residents.

A report presented to planning control sub committee councillors said that the application was to create "a high quality business park."

A former mill building on the site would be refurbished and the new buildings would be between the mill and Eagley Brook.

Labour Cllr Guy Harkin, deputy council leader, said: "If you are looking at this on purely planning grounds, you have to say that it does not improve the quality of life of people who live there."

Permission

But councillors were told that the firm already had a business use permission for the site and could in theory put in a larger application.

Cllr Harkin added: "What we have is an application which will produce around 20 heavy goods vehicles a day, but as an alternative we could have 120 and there would be nothing we could do about it."

Tory Bromley Cross Cllr Alan Wilkinson asked planning sub committee councillors to turn down the application saying that residents were worried about extra traffic coming into the area.

His ward colleague Cllr Norman Critchley added: "This mill was built during the 1800s and the entrance was not built for the modern car, but for the horse and cart. The entrance goes across two housing estates where there are a considerable number of children. This will be a gross intrusion on that area."

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