Plans for 32 employment units recommended for approval

Plans for 32 small employment units in Peterborough go before councillors on Tuesday (February 20) with a recommendation for approval.

Peterborough City Council’s planning and environmental committee will consider the scheme by FI Real Estate Management to extend the Lynch Wood Business Park in a diversion away from its current focus on providing office accommodation.

FI is seeking Use Class E(g) across the entire scheme including E(g)(i) (Offices for operational or administrative functions), E(g)(ii) (research and development of products or processes) and E(g)(iii) (industrial processes).

The scheme has attracted a number of objections, some on the grounds of traffic and some regarding the close proximity to the Grade II*-listed business park. The council had tried t0 get the scheme called in by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities but was turned down.

The developer plans to build nine blocks with unit sizes ranging from 47 sq m to 465 sq m in a total development of 5,976 sq m on a 2.07-hectare scrubland site between the Lynch Wood car park and offices formerly used by Yorkshire Building Society which now have both prior approval permission for conversion to residential and permission to convert to a care home.

FI had been given planning consent for an office development on the car park site in 2020 along with a retail terrace on a smaller surface car park.

However, its planning and heritage statement, put together by Tetra Tech, states: “FI Real Estate Management Ltd is also the owner of these neighbouring plots.

“Following the Covid-19 pandemic and a resultant stark reduction in market demand for office floorspace, the landowner now has no intention of progressing this planning permission.“

As well as Tetra Tech, the project team includes Domus Architecture, DEP Landscape Architecture and Energy Counsel on sustainability.

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