A HUGE riverside development in Lymington could be given the go-ahead by New Forest District Council planners on Wednesday.

Paxton Holdings Limited's multi-million pound plan for the former Webbs chicken processing factory site has run into opposition from the council in the past.

An earlier plan is to be the subject of a planning appeal set to take place in May.

But after consultations with architects, council officers are now recommending approval.

Paxton Holdings wants to build 205 privately-owned homes, 93 affordable homes, 10 live/work units, a 100-bed hotel, a restaurant, shop and office accommodation and a riverside public walkway.

The change of heart comes after negotiations about the previous concerns.

A major stumbling block was the location of the entrance into busy Bridge Road, next to the level crossing.

That has been overcome by moving the entrance a few yards to the east and controlling traffic by signals linked to train movements.

The council had wanted a bridge over the railway to create a pedestrian link with the town centre.

Paxton has had problems getting an agreement with Network Rail but has agreed to provide £800,000 to the district council for footbridge construction plus a separate £300,000 contribution for cycle routes and public transport improvements.

Flood protection problems have been alleviated by allowing space for defences to be built.

The lack of office accommo-dation has been overcome by including the old Yot Grot premises in the site, which will provide space for 227 square metres of offices.

Paxton has also bought two hectares of land at the Ampress Park site north of Lymington, which will provide space for 16 workshops and 39 office units.

Hyde Housing Association has given its qualified support for the transfer to it of the 93 affordable homes.

Paxton has promised £251,367 towards the provision of off-site public open space and £33,687 towards the maintenance of the public areas on site.

There have also been design changes to improve the look of the development.

Both Lymington and Pennington Town Council and Boldre Parish Council object to the plans.

Planning officers are recommending that councillors authorise their chief planning officer Chris Elliott to give permission when he is satisfied with fine-tuning.

First published: February 7