Decision on distribution warehouse temporarily overturned

Dummer Parish Council challenged the legality of the decision

A decision to give a large warehouse near Basingstoke planning permission has been temporarily cancelled amid legal arguments.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council approved the "storage and distribution hub" in April.

A parish council challenged it on legal grounds, leading the council to delay it while waiting on an intervention from the Secretary of State.

Land at Oakdown Farm on the A30 has been chosen for the development.

The 271,000 sq m building will be located near the village of Dummer, off junction 7 of the M3.

The Basingstoke Gazette has reported the facility will be an Amazon warehouse.

Amazon told the BBC it does not comment "on rumour and speculation".

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council said the government's planning case work unit was still considering a request to Robert Jenrick to call-in the application.

'Robust'

It said: "While this is under consideration a decision notice cannot be issued.

"However, Dummer Parish Council has written to the borough council challenging the legality of the decision, based on what it considers to be an error in the information given to the committee about how visible the development would be from the village."

The borough council's chief executive Russell O'Keefe said: "It is important that we are robust and transparent in our decision making.

"The council has carefully considered Dummer Parish Council's letter challenging the decision on the application and taken legal advice.

"We have decided that the best way forward is to take the application back to the development control committee.

"This is possible as a way of resolving this, as the decision notice has not yet been issued owing to the Secretary of State considering a call-in request."

Dummer Parish Council told the BBC it was "pleased" with the borough council's move.

Newlands Developments, the developer behind the project, declined to comment.