Newcastle Airport business park plans spark protests
16.07.07
Plans for a £20m business park at Newcastle Airport have sparked a row, with the council receiving over 100 objections. The scheme, which would create 1,600 jobs is due before councillors next week, has divided community and business leaders.
The proposal is for six three-storey buildings with a total of 16,250 square metres of office space and 465 car parking spaces south of the airport's freight village close to Callerton Parkway Metro station.
The new business park has the support of the North East Chamber of Commerce, the CBI, and the regional development agency One Northeast because of the economic benefits it will bring to the region. There's also support from Newcastle North MP Doug Henderson who says the scheme is crucial to the future success of the airport, and the executive mayor of neighbouring North Tyneside, John Harrison.
However, the council has received more than 100 individual objections from residents along with Woolsington Residents' Association and Woolsington parish council, mainly about traffic, noise, pollution, the loss of green space and the impact on wildlife. Protesters also question the need for the development and say new offices should be built in places like the nearby Newcastle Great Park.
A similar application was turned down by the city council a year ago because it breached planning guidelines stipulating that only airport-related businesses should be allowed on the land. There has now been an assurance that all businesses will be airport-related and councillors will be recommended to back the scheme at a meeting of the development control committee on Friday.
In a report to councillors, Harvey Emms, head of planning and transportation, says: 'Now that the application is clearly and wholly for airport related uses, I consider the principle of the development is acceptable.'
Mr Emms claims that local roads can cope with the traffic and the scheme will not have a significant impact on other office developments but would complement schemes at Newcastle Great Park and Newburn Riverside. He adds: 'There is an identifiable strategic benefit in terms of job creation and long term growth prospects.'
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