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Airfield plans recommended for approval

12:01am Thursday 21st August 2008

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PLANNING officers are recommending permission for a controversial business park, including the so-called Tesco megashed, on the former Andover Airfield - despite a storm of protest.

The application by developers Goodman includes business, storage and distribution units, hotel and community building, as well as the megashed, and is now recommended for approval subject to conditions, satisfactory consultations with DEFRA and the completion of legal agreements.

The STOP! Alliance last week submitted a petition with more than 5,000 signatures against the proposal and more than 2,300 letters of objection have been received by Test Valley Borough Council - with just 12 letters of support.

A total of 18 parish and town councils have objected and two have expressed concerns.

Wiltshire County Council is worried about the impact of HGV movements on Amesbury and Ludgershall, and Salisbury District Council is concerned about the impact on Countess Roundabout at Amesbury.

One of STOP! Alliance's complaints is the predominance of warehousing, especially relating to the proposed Tesco megashed.

Campaigners, including Andover MP Sir George Young, are concerned about the need for high quality jobs to raise the aspiration of school leavers.

But in a report to the council's northern area planning committee, economic development officer Mr David Gleave says: "The jobs likely to be provided will cover a range of skills to suit different local needs and will be accompanied by extensive training of transferable skills."

Planning officers also say that the council's policy 'does not prescribe in any way the mix and location of any of the principal uses within the site. Neither does it prevent the establishment of a single, large occupier for the site'.

Many objections have highlighted highway safety and capacity but the report says that after extensive negotiations the Highways Agency and Hampshire County Council's highway's authority have concluded the proposed development is acceptable, subject to conditions.

With suitable noise mitigation measures the report argues that the development would not give rise to a detrimental impact on neighbours.

Considering all other aspects of the development including ecology, archaeology, contamination, drainage, air quality, energy generation and energy efficiency, tourism, crime and community safety, the report says that the proposal is 'considered acceptable'.

The application is for full permission for the megashed site and outline planning permission for the rest. It will be considered by the northern area planning committee on 1 September in The Lights at 5.30pm.

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Joppers, Upper Clatford says...
8:22am Thu 21 Aug 08

A truly sad day, total miss representation of an allegedly shockingly representation facts by Goodmans, in support of this application. Clearly TVBC need to review ALL their past REJECTED applications in the TVBC area. I’d advise anybody that has had a planning application rejected to appeal, as The structure of the proposed B8 warehouse detracts from the character of the area, it’s scale, mass, height, design, appearance, materials proposed, noise and will have a detrimental effect to the neighbouring residences- Contrary to SET03, SET707, DESo1,DESo2,DES05, DES06, DESo7, ENV07, ENV15, ENV17 of the TVBC Local Plan 2006. and Policy E7 & E16 of the Hampshire County Structure Plan 2006-2011.

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lynners, Andover says...
11:08am Thu 21 Aug 08

How does Joppers know so much more about planning law than the experts such as Jason Owen and Maddie Winters perhaps a little knowledge is dangerous. Good job he is not running the country as he as misinteruppted a number of these rules to suit himself

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Bob W, Andover says...
11:17am Thu 21 Aug 08

Ordinary protesters found more holes in the Tesco/Goodmans plans than a colander. This is why its taken 2 years to get this stage. And still the plans are fundamentally flawed.

But is this decision really a surprise?

Tesco's agents in the construction industry were advertising for jobs in April 2007 even before the planning application was even made.

What gave them so much confidence, even then?

They seem to have always thought they have had it in the bag.

How can TVBC planning pretend this is consistent with the local plan Andover Vision. What a joke. Through incompetent or design, TVBC planning have stitched us all up.

Just imagine if all this effort had been devoted to improving Walworth or attracting technology and skilled manufacturing companies to the airfield as promised in the local plan.

Hopefully the TVBC councillors will see sense. They have the support of enough rate payers people to reject this plan.

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John Kelly, Andover Town centre says...
4:22pm Thu 21 Aug 08

This proposal is like a large rock being dropped into a small pond. Its impact is too great for the infrastructure to absorb. So we have caps on the number of lorries that can leave every hour because the A303 can't cope. Bans on lorries travelling on the country roads,promises of noise barriers. No provision for HGV parking for the hundreds of HGV's needing somewhere to wait. Concern from Southern Water that they can't cope with sewage until Fullerton is complete. 50,000 people are going have their lives degraded for the sake a 600 warehouse jobs. TVBC said that it would attract other major business's. Andover Chamber of Commerce don't want it neither does the Andover Youth Forum. Who would come here to be overwhelmed by the volume of lorries? 20 parish Councils said no, along with 5000 petioners, 2300 letters. Only 12 people wrote and said yes.
The ripples from the massive lump will impact our lives and futures and the surrounding villages for decades if its passed. Thousands of ordinary people have said NO. Only planners seem to want it. This recommendation to pass an outsized lorry terminal is from the same planners that sold us a Business Park in both the Local Plan and Andover Vision documents.
Where does any ordinary person get heard?



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A Drage, Andover says...
7:55pm Thu 21 Aug 08

Take heart John Kelly, the real fight now begins. It is a struggle between democracy on the one side and seeking to save what is good and properly invest for the long term future of Andover versus unelected bureaucracy and shortermism on the other. Unless all of us continue to stand up and make our voices heard then this ill-advised propsoal will blight Andover for years to come. And in 10-15 years it will be abandoned, Tesco, who will only rent the shed, will move on and one will see the tumble weed blowing throught this temple of outdated thinking and technology. Hold fast to that which is good and keep the faith! MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD

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Joe Palmer, Andover says...
9:02pm Thu 21 Aug 08

Well done TVBC Planners and now lets hope that the scheme gets final approval on 1st September. For too long Andover has been lacking in Investment and has drifted through the alst decades whilst neighbouring towns have encompassed change and moved into the 21st Century. Lets hope that the silent majority prevail over the loud mouthed NIMBY brigade who have tried to enforce their views on others. It has been quite shameful to witness some of the pressure tactics to get signatures on petitions. 5,000 sinatures ? So what ! How many havent signed ? 50,000 ?
Let the Investment begin, at last a future for Andover and the surrounding areas. George Young hang your head in shame.

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james, Hants says...
9:50pm Thu 21 Aug 08

Well said Mr Palmer.
The complainers have mostly made their money, are shacked up in nice village homes and now don't want others to have a chance.
It is a dog in the manger attitude which won't wash as they have lost all the arguments but are too blinkered to see.
I'm sorry George Young is putting his majority ahead of the needs of the poorer members of our community as they are the ones who will benefit most from this proposal.

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Carlos Tilbury, overton says...
10:20pm Thu 21 Aug 08

I forgot George lives in Penton! I'll tell you now that the TVBC is worse than Basingstoke (both Tory), they have very odd views on building, in Basingstoke the tories say no more flats, then they try and sell council land to developers for more flats! So be very cautionus about the Cllrs and MP's some of them can be two faced.

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Richard D, Southampton says...
11:01pm Thu 21 Aug 08

No one is stopping those in favour of the megashed from speaking out as this list of comments demonstrates.

But it is a fact that ordinary people from across Andover (not just villages)against the megashed have collected more than 5,000 signatures in their spare time and more than 2,300 objections have been officially lodged with TVBC.

And it is a fact that a laughable 12 wrote in favour to the TVBC.

And don't forget Tesco tried collecting petition signatures and polling in the high street and leafleting every house in Andover to try to curry favour.

Funny how their results were never published.

Perhaps not even all their money and propagandists could get the results they wanted.

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jeff, Andover says...
11:11am Fri 22 Aug 08

I see that the Goodman advert in today's Andover Advertiser is up to it's normal standard!

A big picure of the nice office block rather than the mega-shed! And once again they have repeated the inaccuracies of the early brochure by making the megashed appear lower than it is. And what happened to the two enormous chimnies?!

Can you trust anything they say or do?

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joe palmer, Andover says...
12:25pm Fri 22 Aug 08

jeff wrote:
I see that the Goodman advert in today's Andover Advertiser is up to it's normal standard! A big picure of the nice office block rather than the mega-shed! And once again they have repeated the inaccuracies of the early brochure by making the megashed appear lower than it is. And what happened to the two enormous chimnies?! Can you trust anything they say or do?
Read the brochure - keep up to date ! "Since submitting the application in July last year Goodman has made a number of revisions which reduce visual impact "

More false claims from the Anti Brigade to go alongside the false traffic numbers that keep getting spouted. It is them that cannot be trusted to tell the truth i fear !

This is an exciting opportunity for Andover, a town that has been asleep for decades with no investment and that has fallen further and further behind all the neighbouring towns and cities.




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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
1:26pm Fri 22 Aug 08

at last! great news. im not going to explain why i think this, again, as i have done in previous posts relating to the megashed. well done for approving it! lets shut the whingers of Andover up and get it here ASAP

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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
1:45pm Fri 22 Aug 08

oh, another thing, what makes me laugh was the fact whats-her-face whos head of the stop! campaign, was on Andover fm the other day saying that they have collected 6,000 names for their petition, which she claims was a huge amount for Andover, also that it was 12% of Andover's popultaion. ok, what about the other 88%? do they not count? in my opinion, if this is democracy and was about a majority vote on what the people of Andover want, then the stop! campaigners are clearly deluded. doesnt it look like that maybe the MAJORITY do not oppose this? i cant wait until its here.

one last point, im sick of hearing you whingers on about the so-called claim that Tesco's are putting on rose tinted glasses on us all, that the pay structure would be minimal or poor. no, it wont be. this isnt shelf stacking ya know? huge Tesco/Sainsbury/Asda warehouses pay well for SKILLED workers, its a fact. this will be beneficial to the current climate and to the town we live in. some people cannot clearly move on or like change, this town needs to change. save yourselves the bother going out protesting about the mega-shed, instead, go out and campaign about the 6 coffee shops, 5 betting outlets and numerous phone shops the small town centre has. i cannot wait for Tesco megashed and complex to be here, i will be out helping them put it up to get it up and running a bit quicker, if i have to! roll on!

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charles smith, Andover Town says...
3:30pm Fri 22 Aug 08

If only the pro lobby individuals, and there aren't many of them I note who also bring in other issues such as coffee shops,betting outlets did something to help themselves now and again then I might begin to sympathise but thanks to the STOP group of dedicated individuals they have brought home to many of us the true realities of this ill founded, carbuncle of a building that will generate over 2000 HGV vehicles per 24 hours and still continue to drive out of Andover the workers with aspirational ideas on improving themselves.

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Bill Hedges, Andover says...
3:43pm Fri 22 Aug 08

Having just recd a copy of Goodmans latest PR stunt I would point out to those who haven't noticed that the aerial view of the proposed site is taken from the North East elevation in order to minimise the impact of the Megashed size - a clever ploy. Also I noticed is the abscence of the 90FT Biomass chimney.Also the main picture shown is of the proposed office building which is not even in for detailed PP. So its design is just a figment of an architechs immagination. In for detailed PP is ONLY Unit 4 ie the 2000FT long x 600FT wide x 62 FT high or as Mr Smith above refers to it 'a carbunckle' of a building and all the HGV traffic, travel delays, dangers, pollution that it brings with it that few of us want here. No reasonable person can forsee any other credible business establishing itself on this site - only more of the same ie Tesco's continuing expansion and take over of Andover.
Its no good saying in a few years time 'If only '... by then your local Planners will have moved to other positions in other Councils and any Councillor who voted for it will almost certainly be out of office.

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Richard, Andover says...
6:35pm Fri 22 Aug 08

what ever you say about the Stop Alliance, at least they have held public meetings, stood in the high street speaking to Andover People.

And they have been vocal and upfront in the pages of this newspaper and funded by voluntary contributions from hundreds of Andover people.

Who are Tesco and Goodmans? Why have they never come to the town to explain their position?

They were alwayss invited.

Expensive leaflet drops and, no doubt, smoozing with TVBC planning are no substitute.

The first we'll see of them is when the 2,000 HGVs arrive on day one of the Megashed.

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sideshow bob, southhampton says...
7:10pm Fri 22 Aug 08

So Joe Palmer thinks that Tesco and the Andover megashed will bring much needed investment into Andover. I assume he is talking primarily in terms of job creation. For his information Tesco`s distribution employment policy now centres around the use of low cost bonded East European labour, as has been the case for the last 3 years at all new and existing Tesco distribution centres. You can guarantee that when up and running this warehouse will run with a minimum 50% foriegn labour.

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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
9:14pm Fri 22 Aug 08

richard, bravo on your last comment! (thats sarcasm) are you going to be standing waiting for them on site? or are they going to be parked outside your bungalow? you wont see them, dont be so dramatic. the sooner the better we 'see' 2000 hgv's the better, because if all goes ahead and people manage to get jobs there, then at least they will be busy and knowing their jobs are secure for the future, being it long term or not and people can have a better wage to pay bills and food, which YOU are not paying, which YOU and your fellow campaigners are not either. this megashed is coming, whether you like it or not, 88% of the people in Andover havent voiced their opinions on the matter, until you and your campaigners have the MAJORITY of this town against the plan, then you can continue to pull your hair out and spend your 'free time' looking into every single detail of another project elsewhere. if you dont like it, move elsewhere, as the majority of this town havent signed your silly petitions!!!!

if the stop! campaigners have been out on the streets of Andover, had meeting and so on, how come not even 6,000 people have signed it? surely if the people of Andover dont want it, theyd sign?

also, i bet you shop in Tesco's or get your petrol there! bring on the megashed

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Prinny McFackerty, Artists Way says...
2:39pm Sat 23 Aug 08

I would just like to say that Mr.Peachey is the only one on here that actually has facts made that are justifiable. The anti-mega shed protesters come up with absolutely ridiculous over-the-top statements and false facts. My partner lives right nest to the A303, alos next to Walworth estate, noise level? Minimal. An extra 2000 lorries a day will be a little noisier, but not as the ridiculous claims made by these no-gooders that are the stop campaigners. I am all for the mega shed, as i think it will bring good prospects to the area. You protesters only look at the negative aspect of the mega shed, how about opening you mind a bit more and look at the positive side, which there will out weigh the negatives, heavily.

I had a nice panphlet through the post today from goodman, telling me all about what they plan on doing to the airfield, what is the problem with it? It certainly won't be as high a building as what Schaeffer is on the Walworth! It looks a great site, a great idea, a great prospect for Andover. All you do-gooders need to get a life and leave the majority of people in Andover with your ridiculous claims. We're sick of hearing them

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joe palmer, andover says...
5:18pm Sat 23 Aug 08

sideshow bob wrote:
So Joe Palmer thinks that Tesco and the Andover megashed will bring much needed investment into Andover. I assume he is talking primarily in terms of job creation. For his information Tesco`s distribution employment policy now centres around the use of low cost bonded East European labour, as has been the case for the last 3 years at all new and existing Tesco distribution centres. You can guarantee that when up and running this warehouse will run with a minimum 50% foriegn labour.

More lies from the Anti Brigade ! It seems they are now adopting the Joseph Goebbels theory of " Lie and Lie big "

http://tescoandoverj
obs.co.uk/jobsandpay
.html



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james, Hampshire says...
12:16am Sun 24 Aug 08

There seems to be a thread of a racism about the anti campaigners who harp on about Poles being employed. Poles are perfectly entitled to work here and we are entitled to work there - an accountant friend of mine has done so for for five years. So what?
More than 1,000 people have registered their interest in working at the megashed and I'm sure that not more than a tiny percentage are Polish nationals.
If you want to defeat this proposal try to stick to planning considerations but if you do you'll find there are no grounds for objections; which is why you have lost.

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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
11:21am Sun 24 Aug 08

James, youre absolutely right, there is also a hint of racism towards eastern europeans, anything the campaigners can bring up for their gain is a plus to them. they seem to indulge deeply into this propaganda campaign, all i see is fibs and exaggerations. they have lost, theyve lost the majority of Andover's votes too, and the campaigners will have something else to harp on about now, or maybe they'll be cleaning their wounds for the forseeable future. i really hope so!

the figure that has applied for the megashed now exceeds 1300

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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
12:30pm Sun 24 Aug 08

i would just like to add one huge valid point to this, i do recall very clearly, that when Tesco wanted to come to Andover to build this megashed, they were originally looking at having it on the Walworth industrial estate. where were the stop! campaigners then? nowhere. they approved it. hypocritical? yes indeed. your whole campaign is a ligitimate propaganda FARCE

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lee chant, king george road, andover says...
6:10pm Mon 25 Aug 08

I would like to say that im a 26 year old man with 3 kids and this tescos mega shed, in my opinon is a fantastic thing all the people that dont want it are all over 50 or just miserable and have nothing to moan about so they choose this, i dont no maybe it brings them some sort of meaning to there lifes but all i will say is BRING ON THE TESCO!!!!!!! p.s i bet 4 out of 5 people against it end up working there lollol

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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
4:16pm Tue 26 Aug 08

jeff, you said in a comment made before, can we trust what the goodman advert says or does? its not a question if we believe what goodmans say, its a question of whether we believe ANYTHING you and your foolish campaigners say or come up with. youre all hypocrites and farcical

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Joe, Andover says...
10:19pm Tue 26 Aug 08

Andy Peachey wrote:
jeff, you said in a comment made before, can we trust what the goodman advert says or does? its not a question if we believe what goodmans say, its a question of whether we believe ANYTHING you and your foolish campaigners say or come up with. youre all hypocrites and farcical
How desperate and sad.


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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
7:42am Wed 27 Aug 08

is that so, joe? please dont hesitate to explain your reasons why you think this, instead of coming out with silly comments youve just made! i'll look foward to your reply

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Andy Peachey, Andover says...
10:26am Thu 28 Aug 08

joe, i think the desperate and sad ones are the likes of yourself and the..wait for it..SIXTY anti-mega shed campaigners that protested yesterday. you are all do so well, arent you? bring on the mega shed

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Brian, Andover says...
11:31am Mon 1 Sep 08

Having read the comments on this, and many other articles regarding the "Megashed" development I decided I would like to add my point of view.

I do agree with the "pro" arguement that Andover needs investment. However, I am yet to be convinced that this is the way forward. As I understand it this new distribution centre will render a number of other centres surplus to Tesco's requirements. If that is the case is it not possible that alot of the managerial and technical jobs (ie the ones paying good salaries) will be taken by the staff at these old sites who will simply relocate? Tesco's is a very successful business and they will be aware that paying a relocation allowance to an existing staff member is far more advantagous than laying that one off, hiring someone new and training the new one up.

Assuming that happens, is it not possible that alot of the senior roles will be taken before the "Megashed" is even open? This will leave only the Lower skilled, Lower paid jobs available to local people. That is not what Andover needs.

With regards to the impact on the local road network. No one seems to be able to comprehend what 2000 (this number taken from other arguements on this, and other pages) lorries will do. Is that because no one really knows what 2000 lorries looks like?

The A303 runs pretty well at present, but it will not take much to exceed the maximum amount traffic it can realistically cope with.

As for the advertising work being carried out by Goodmans, it occurs to me that this is a sales pitch. Of course they want to "sell" the idea to the local people, but I view this with a great deal of suspicion. Afterall, if this development realy was the best thing for Andover then it would need very little "selling". I lived in Basingstoke when the town centre was redeveloped and that did not need "selling" because everyone could see it was the right thing to do.

I am also concerned about the long term prospects in view of the ever changing Business model that companies like Tesco adopts. Is it not possible that this centre will not be viable in 5 - 10 years time? What will happen if and when they leave?

As I said Andover needs invesment, but not like this.

P.S. Before I am dismissed as another "old moaner" I am 38, and fully employed!

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