Bournemouth Airport business park expansion goes to planning committee

Imperial Park Bournemouth and the airport applied to BCP Council for permission to build two business parks, including 85,100 sq m of employment floorspace and 10,000 sq m of employment building. 

The expansion could potentially create 2,600 jobs and bring a £100 million benefit to the economy, airport bosses have said. 

Industrial land with road improvements will cover 25 hectares and will see at least 60 per cent of the development used for storage or distribution, with the rest for business and general use. 

CGI of the business park (Image: Stephen George and Partners LLP)

Although planning permission has already been given for most of the project, construction could only begin if refinements are made to the spine road design linking the east and the west of the industrial estate, it was agreed in December 2021. 

It is recommended that the planning committee, which meets next week, should agree to delegate the powers to make a decision to the interim director of planning and destination. 

A council report says: “The three applications and the resolutions made by the planning committee remain crucial in securing employment land for 85,100 sq m of development providing significant job opportunities accompanied by improved highway infrastructure and public bus services and sustainable travel options.” 

CGI of the business park (Image: Stephen George and Partners LLP)

To solve these issues, a time frame of six months was given by the committee but, due to “extended difficulties overcoming highway design issues for the road a cycleway”, this was not possible. 

Read more: What's happening with Bournemouth's Airport huge business park plans?

An additional 12 months were provided and these agreements have been “fully negotiated, securing benefits of a continuous highway with cycle and pedestrian safety measures, linking the two business parks together”, according to council documents. 

An aerial view of the Aviation Business Park at Bournemouth Airport (Image: Stephen Bath)

“As a result there are now significant public benefits to the local economy, with employment opportunities potentially providing up to 2,600 new jobs, much improved highway infrastructure, for cycling and pedestrians, a travel plan including improved bus services, and also benefits to the environment, with biodiversity gains on and off site,” the documents add. 

In January, Steve Gill, managing director of Bournemouth Airport, told the Echo that work on the first unit has begun and is a “significant investment in its own right”. 

The planning committee will meet on Thursday, June 15.