"Speculative" plans for industrial units near Baginton have been approved despite pleas from villagers already suffering from sleep deprivation.

The plot directly south of the A45, previously allocated for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to build a car showroom and workshop alongside a hotel and retail, is now set to accommodate 12 industrial or warehousing units.

Warwick District Council planning officer Adam Walker confirmed to councillors that it involves an extra 9,000 square metres of floor space despite the prospect of generating fewer jobs but said any applicants to build on land that earmarked for employment use were not bound by past permissions. 

Baginton resident Rheba Horsfall addressed the district's planning committee – the panel of councillors tasked with making the final call – to highlight how plans had shifted from a "discrete technology park that was never built".

"As villagers always predicted, this plot is now under discussion for speculative warehouses," she said.

"The buildings bear no resemblance to the JLR plan and are much larger. The floorspace and overall building volumes have increased dramatically, yet thousands of jobs can now be counted in the hundreds."

Highlighting the "years of disruption" from "incessant beeping noises and layers of dust and dirt invading our lives" from the development of the neighbouring UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, she added that "SEGRO Park is currently experiencing similar noise complaints".

"Sleep is being disturbed by speeding cars from early-morning shift change and their DHL lorries have been seen coming through the village," she continued.

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"These (new) plans will see additional 24/7 HGV movements using unsuitable access points just metres away from homes and add to light pollution from existing warehouses just north of the A45.

"For fairness and probity in planning, giving due weight to local knowledge and concerns is imperative in ensuring the development of this site is mutually acceptable and does not result in further deterioration of the local environment."

There were mixed feelings all round with councillors accepting a level of disruption had to be expected from employment allocations while being concerned at the pace and nature of the alterations for plans on this land, as well as the uncertainty around conditions.

Mr Walker stated the applicants could not reasonably detail noise management mitigations until they knew who would let the units but that conditions would see each occupier assessed individually and as to what extent they contribute to overall noise levels as and when they seek to move in, describing the restrictions as "very robust". 

Lorry movements were also a hot topic with councillors concerned that not enough was being done to prevent them driving through Baginton. 

Cllr Peter Phillips advocated a "physical" block such as width barriers but was told they could not be conditioned, particularly as Warwickshire County Council felt that the wider Whitley South development's dedicated highways links to the A45 and conditions to stop departing lorries from turning towards the village were sufficient.

Mr Walker described them "as robust as we can reasonably impose". 

Cllr Phillips settled on an additional note – a non-binding request – for a form of physical mitigation and the committee granted permission without dissent.

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