North Ferriby warehouse plans granted conditional approval

Claire Allmendinger, a North Ferriby resident and founding member of the Save Ferriby group, said the plans had left her and others "worried"

Plans for a huge warehouse and distribution centre in East Yorkshire look set to go ahead after conditional approval was granted.

Developer Wykeland said the "state-of-the-art" facility near North Ferriby would give the local economy a major boost.

It is believed the centre would be for online retailer Amazon, but this has yet to be confirmed.

The plans have been met with more than 1,300 objections.

If approved, the warehouse would be built at the Melton West Business Park in East Yorkshire

East Riding of Yorkshire Council planners met earlier to recommend approval for the scheme, providing the developers put measures in place to limit the impact on nearby residents, wildlife and habitat.

It is claimed the facility, which would be about the size of seven football pitches, would create up to 1,300 jobs.

However, the plans attracted 1,344 objections, including concerns about the number of lorries using and parking up on local roads, and the impact on the environment.

Councillor John Mabbet said planners had put big business before residents

Councillor John Mabbet, from North Ferriby Parish Council, said planners had "championed big business over residents".

He said he was also sceptical about the number of jobs that would actually be created.

"These claims of jobs at similar sites around the country have never materialised," he said.

Mr Mabbet said the decision was "undoubtedly a set back", but "it's not the end of the line", he added.

"We are going to go back - regroup - and consider our options," he said.

Leo Hammond, chair of the planning committee at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "While residents often raise many emotive reasons for refusal or even support, sadly we often can't take those into consideration.

"We have to make a decision, whether it is for or against, based on material planning reasons," he said.

Mr Hammond also said planners were not aware of who the end user of the facility would be, and it had no bearing on the application.