A SWANAGE industrial warehouse site is expected to be redeveloped to provide ten smaller business units, almost doubling the space available.

The 5A Victoria Avenue site has been given permission for the changes by Dorset Council.

It will increase the size of useable space from 372 square metres to 725sqm and also add 18 cycle spaces, with 23 parking spots remaining in place.

The application will see a slight increase in the height of the building, a reduction in the width from 14.5m to 10m. The biggest change to the site footprint will be an increase in the length of the units from 25m to almost 64m.

A planning officer decided that the bigger building would not look out of place on a site which is largely unseen: “The proposal would sit comfortably with neighbouring development on the Victoria Avenue Industrial Estate. Due to the site’s location within the Industrial Estate, its existing use for industrial purposes, and the proposed scale and layout of the units, the proposal would have a negligible impact on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A condition requiring submission of materials details would ensure these are appropriate,” said a report on the application.

The nearest homes are in Aigburth Road, 20m away and separated from the units by the railway line. Planning officers decided that they were unlikley to be disturbed by the small business units.

Swanage town council had not offered any comment on the proposal, which was submitted to Dorset Council in October 2021, and there were no objections from any statutory consultees.