Archived press release

Date Published: 12/09/06

AVDC has decided to withdraw its objections to the proposed Gatehouse Quarter housing development in Aylesbury. An independent planning inspector will now recommend to the Secretary of State whether developers Frontier Estates should be granted p...

AVDC has decided to withdraw its objections to the proposed Gatehouse Quarter housing development in Aylesbury.

An independent planning inspector will now recommend to the Secretary of State whether developers Frontier Estates should be granted planning permission to redevelop the site on Bicester Road into a scheme that includes business, industrial and warehousing units, a nursing home, a hotel and 370 homes.

AVDC has previously refused planning permission for the £125 million scheme, mainly because the proposal represents a significant loss of valuable employment floor space and land close to the town centre.

A public inquiry into the development proposals for the site was held at Aylesbury Civic Centre last week. The Secretary of State will make a decision on the application at a later date.

John Byrne, Head of Planning Services, said: “In the run-up to the inquiry, Frontier Estates revised their scheme to address a number of the points that had led us to refuse planning permission.  The only remaining issue between us related to whether we should insist on the whole site being retained for employment purposes given that the Frontier Estate's scheme had a mixture of housing, employment and other uses.

“After a substantial amount of technical and legal arguments relating to the specific circumstances of this scheme were aired at the inquiry, the advice we were receiving from our barrister was that we would not be successful in our opposition.  Under those circumstances we needed to withdraw our objections. To have pressed our case regardless of the changing situation would have exposed the council to a significant risk of a costs award being made against us.”
 
Councillor Peter Cooper, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “It is obviously disappointing that the whole of the site is not being made available for employment uses given the importance we place on making sure the future growth of Aylesbury is about jobs as well as houses.  However, there is good news coming from the scheme which we expect will see the creation of around 535 jobs in the business units being proposed, the hotel and the replacement for the old DIY retail warehouse. 

“I am particularly pleased that the Basepoint Enterprise Centre will be part of the scheme. This will provide space for business start ups and newly formed businesses. The fact that we will be getting substantial commercial investment to regenerate a site which has fallen into a poor condition will be another major boost for the town, alongside the other key developments that are proposed in the next few years.”