Site LPS 55: Wilmslow Business Park

The development of the Wilmslow Business Park site over the Local Plan Strategy period will be achieved through:

  1. The delivery of up to 6.3 ha of employment land for an exemplar B1 Business use development in line with the principles of sustainable development, providing around 25,000 square metres of employment space.

Site Specific Principles of Development

  1. New development will be expected to be of a high quality and innovative design, which will consider site constraints whilst providing an attractive place to work.
  2. A comprehensive landscaping scheme will be required.
  3. New development will be expected to make enhancements to the existing access point or provide a new access to the A34. It must also improve connectivity and accessibility within the site and to the wider local area including pedestrian and cycle links to Wilmslow Railway Station.
  4. The existing playing fields on site must be retained within the site or contributions made for off site provision. The retention and / or replacement of the outdoor sports facilities should be in accordance with the findings of an adopted, up to date and robust needs assessment.
  5. New development will be expected to respect any existing ecological constraints on site and where necessary, provide appropriate mitigation.
  6. A minimum of a Phase 1 Preliminary Risk Assessment for contaminated land should be carried out to demonstrate that the site is, or could be made, suitable for use should it be found to be contaminated. Further work, including a site investigation, may be required at a pre-planning stage, depending on the nature of the site.

Justification

15.651 Located within close proximity of Wilmslow town centre and transportation links this former Green Belt site offers an ideal opportunity for development. Bounded by the A34 and West Coast Mainline this site is surrounded by defensible boundaries and is therefore an opportune environment for a sustainable employment site.

15.652 Development of the site would contribute to Wilmslow’s expanding knowledge based industry, facilitate jobs and contribute to both the town and wider borough objectives towards economic growth. It provides excellent linkages and visibility from the main A34 road. The mainline railway station lies less than half a mile to the north.

15.653 The isolated nature of this site restricted by its boundaries, narrow shape and limited access point will, as with all developments, require a high level of design but will also allow scope for an innovative design solution, which will overcome constraints. A future master plan for this development would therefore be desired.

15.654 To ensure the principles of sustainable development are achieved, enhancements to the existing access will be essential to provide linkage of this development with the town centre and wider community.

15.655 A comprehensive landscaping scheme will be fundamental to providing an attractive setting for the business park as well as providing a landscape buffer between the railway line, A34 Bypass and the education use to the north.

15.656 Open space provision offers an important contribution to the health and wellbeing of the local community. The playing fields north of the site will therefore need to be either retained within the site or provision made off site.

15.657 Development will be required to take existing ecological constraints on site into consideration, such as a brook which runs through the site. Existing mature trees and hedging will be expected to be maintained, where possible, or replaced with mitigation.

15.658 Any replacement and/or new sports provision should be in accordance with an adopted up to date and robust Playing Pitch Strategy and Indoor Sports Strategy and with Policy SC 2 ‘Indoor and Outdoor Sports Facilities’.

15.659 The site has potential for contamination to be present therefore at least a Phase 1 Preliminary Risk Assessment for contaminated land needs to be carried out to ensure that any contamination that is present is subject to appropriate remediation.

Indicative Site Delivery

Policy information

 

Previous page: Site LPS 54 'Royal London including land west of Alderley Road, Wilmslow'  |  Cheshire East Local Plan policy index  |  Next page: Site LPS 56 'Land at Little Stanneylands, Wilmslow'