WAREHOUSES next to one of Burton’s biggest employers are due to be bulldozed next month.
It comes as the latest in a series of planning applications submitted by developer St Modwen for land next to the Pirelli site in Derby Road, Stretton, and will make way for 300 homes as well as a hotel, a pub and restaurant, and various industrial units.
The developers were given the seal of approval for their long-running housing application by East Staffordshire Borough Council’s planning committee in November, last year.
The Derby Road side of the factory is to be made up of a mixed commercial development while the homes will be built towards Princess Way.
Access points to the site will be provided via Derby Road and Beech Lane. It means warehouses on site will need to be demolished and plans for this have now been submitted to the borough council. However a separate screening application has also been submitted on request of the council which seeks clarification on whether prior approval is required as to how the buildings are demolished and any restoration requirements for the site.
Where demolition works are likely to have significant effects on the environment the council must issue a screening opinion on whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required.
St Modwen say in the screening opinion that an EIA is not required because ‘(the site) is not a sensitive area. It is in this application that St Modwen has revealed that demolition is due to start next month.
Funding through Section 106 agreements to mitigate against the negative impact of the proposals on the surrounding community, would have been invested in highways improvements, a play area, open space and improvement works to the Trent and Mersey Canal towpath.
However, the council has now decided not to demand the money be paid from the outset, due to ‘current market conditions’ and ‘the complexity of brownfield sites’.
Instead the development will now take place in three phases, with it being hoped the funds could be received prior to the second stage of the development.
