Business park extension given go-ahead

The site is alongside the A4103 Hereford-Worcester road

Plans to expand a business park in Herefordshire, potentially creating up to 100 jobs, have been approved.

The application for a 1.4-hectare paddock at Whitestone Business Park, by the A4103 Hereford-Worcester road, was to create space for 10 mixed-sized units for commercial, industrial, storage and distribution uses.

The business park was fully occupied and several existing tenants were "actively seeking larger units", the plans put forward in January said.

Addressing local concerns, the applicant had offered upgrades to roads "to facilitate safe pedestrian access to the village of Withington", Herefordshire Council planning officer Adam Lewis stated.

He considered the scheme to be "well positioned and will be experienced as a logical extension" of the business park, yet it would be screened by mature boundary trees, which would be kept.

Under the approval, the units' hours of use, including deliveries and dispatch, will be limited to between 07:00 BST and 18:00 on weekdays and 08:00 to 16:00 on Saturdays, with no use on Sundays or bank holidays.

Any noise-generating equipment or external lighting would have to be separately approved by the council.

A further application covering the design details, including internal roads and parking, will need to be approved.

Piper Homes was refused planning permission for a 33-home estate at the site in May 2022, while an earlier permission to build 80 flats lapsed in 2018.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.