Warehouse plans waiting for verdict on junction 10a

Developers delay go-ahead until M20 decision

Bosses behind plans for a giant warehouse development in Sevington say they are waiting until a decision is made on the nearby junction 10a before making their next move with the scheme.

Councillors gave bosses outline planning permission for the Stour Park development in May last year and resolved a number of issues, including the Section 106 legal agreement, last week.

But Hobbs Parker planning consultant David Jarman, who helped developers gain outline permission, says bosses are waiting until the transport secretary decides on plans for the long-awaited junction 10a before “firming up plans”.

The fate of the new junction off the M20 will finally be revealed before Christmas and directly affects Stour Park as the warehouse development will be built off a new link road between the M20 and the A2070.

Section 106 agreements are arrangements between developers and the council that are negotiated as part of a condition of planning permission.

They include contributions to help pay for infrastructure needed to support the new development.

The Stour Park scheme could create as many as 1,600 full time jobs and 160 construction jobs while the two 16-metre high warehouses are being built.

The buildings will offer 1.6 million and 1.5 million sq ft of floor space respectively and will also contain a 215,000 sq ft retail unit and 160,000 sq ft space for general manufacturing.

Kent Wool Growers (KWG) in Tannery Lane was among the companies interested in moving into the site before folding last week, while Amazon was also rumoured to be linked, though this has been consistently denied by the council.

Campaigners from the nearby village of Mersham had raised concerns about the size and scale of the development, which they feared will blight an area of outstanding beauty and will have a big impact on the historic St Mary’s Church at Sevington.

But in a planning statement submitted with the outline application, Friends Life Ltd, AXA real estate, and DMI Properties Ltd said the development will generate a “significant number” of new jobs.