Planning permission is being sought for the retrospective change of use of former agricultural land to the stationing of 182 storage units (144 metal containers) on a site to the west of James Farm in Grazeley Green.
Planning permission is being sought for the retrospective change of use of former agricultural land to the stationing of 182 storage units (144 metal containers) on a site to the west of James Farm in Grazeley Green, next to the AWE plant.
Officers recommend approval provided one of the storage units is kitted out as a safety cabin, to be used in the event of an emergency at the nuclear bomb factory.
Wokefield Parish Council objects, calling it significant overdevelopment of the site, likely to generate increased traffic and contrary to countryside protection policy.
West Berkshire Council’s highways team says the parish’s worries are "of course recognised" but that, by the very nature of the storage compound, the level of daily vehicle movements at 12 is low and will not have a severe impact on the local highway network.
AWE also lodged a strong objection, saying the development will inevitably mean more people arrive on site at all times of the day, increasing ultimately "the off-site risk to the public should an incident arise at the AWE (B) site very close by." It says the development is clearly contrary to policy about protecting assets of national security.
After negotiation, the emergency planning officer has approved the final emergency plan with appropriate conditions and says once implemented it will have no additional harmful impact on the blue light services.
One container will be converted to an emergency safety cabin with full ventilation and insulation for occupants for up to 48 hours, plus food, water and cleaning facilities.
The council planning team recommends granting the application, saying the development would meet ongoing public and commercial demand for accessible storage facilities and so help sustain the local rural economy. It is an expansion of an existing site on which 34 of the units are rented for business use and 145 for personal use.
The containers are just under 2.6m high; most are painted olive green, but not all. Secure fencing surrounds the site, with existing landscaped bunds, CCTV cameras and motion-detecting security lighting.
The proposal will be discussed at the district council’s eastern area planning committee on Thursday (December 11).
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
