D-Day for New Look site (From Dorset Echo)

D-Day for New Look site

11:00am Tuesday 21st August 2007

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TOMORROW is decision day on plans for a major development on the New Look site in Weymouth.

The company wants to build a new headquarters as part of a scheme in Mercery Road that could support 3,300 jobs.

The chain's master plan includes a new headquarters building for its 500 staff, a hotel, a new fire station, a medical centre and ambulance headquarters.

Industrial units, retail warehousing and a managed business centre are also proposed in the scheme.

Plans are due to go before tomorrow's meeting of Weymouth and Portland's Borough Council planning and traffic committee.

Councillors are being recommended in a report to grant outline planning permission for the scheme subject to more than two dozen conditions.

These include a clause relating to a £420,000 contribution by New Look to amenities.

This consists of £140,000 towards the Weymouth relief road, £100,000 towards road, crossing and junction improvements, £105,000 towards an enhanced cycle path and £75,000 towards a hydrological study.

Other conditions include the transfer of land owned by New Look at no cost to enable part of the relief road to be built.

New Look's proposal includes a commitment to retain its existing distribution centre for three years once work starts although it would be placed on the market.

If it was not sold, re-let or being occupied for 'commercial purposes' within that time then it would be demolished to make way for 'alternative employment development'.

The company says it is 'keen to stay in Weymouth', specifically to retain its existing experienced office workforce if possible.

New Look's latest scheme for the site follows similar 2005 plans which were aborted in the face of heavy objections by planners and key groups such as the South West Regional Development Agency and Natural England.

Their concerns included potential loss of employment land and a possible impact on protected species.

Councillors will be told that Natural England has welcomed a hydrological study for Lodmoor site of special scientific interest and on this basis has no objection to the plans.

Natural Heritage and the Environment Agency also raise no objection subject to conditions ranging from drainage and pollution to the protection of important species such as Cetti's warblers.

The regional development agency says it has been working closely with New Look and has made 'significant progress' to the extent it now supports the proposals subject to various points.

These include employment land provision and retail elements not competing with the town centre and Osprey Quay.

Another boost comes from the South West Regional Assembly which also backs the scheme.

It says that it initially had fears that retail proposals represented 'edge of town development' which could threaten the vitality and viability of Weymouth town centre but that 'exceptional circumstances' exist to show they should support the scheme in principle.

These include evidence that once the site is fully redeveloped it could support more than 2,000 full-time jobs with another 1,300 extra jobs created in the travel to work area, says the assembly.

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