The site had a long history of industrial and employment uses. The Local Plan allocated and protected it for employment uses as part of a wider business area.

A scheme was developed that met the clients’ requirements for 80,000ft² of retailing and provided an element of new B1, B2 and B8 employment floorspace that Council members were keen to see.

The merits of the scheme as promoted were sufficiently strong and well-justified that the Government Office did not call the application in. Furthermore, in response to our representations, the Local Plan Inspector agreed to remove the employment allocation of the land making subsequent changes or extensions easier to secure.

​However, in seeking to secure planning permission for 20,000ft² of mezzanine floorspace, critical to securing initial occupiers, the Council’s officers, faced with emerging town centre schemes and retail proposals as part of the regeneration of the Vauxhall plant, initially recommended refusal. A detailed response based on in-depth research into all the relevant retail planning issues, including impact on town centre investment and sequential testing and a critical review of the Council’s position on the other emerging schemes, led officers to change their recommendation and support the proposal. That then provided the basis for building out the scheme.