Residents of a village linked to the signing of the Magna Carta have raised concerns over proposals to expand one of North Yorkshire’s biggest industrial estates beyond boundaries agreed two years ago.
Topcliffe residents say they continue to support extending nearby Dalton Industrial Estate near Thirsk.
However, they fear further extensions could exacerbate the number of lorries flouting the ban on 7.5-tonne vehicles passing through the historic village to access the business park.
The concerns have been raised after developers lodged proposals with North Yorkshire Council to create 26,070sq m of “flexible employment space” on a former poultry farm to complete the Greenbox project at Dalton 49 logistics park.
It has been forecast the logistics park will create up to 2,115 full-time equivalent jobs on site and boost the coffers of the authority, which reduced its end of year deficit to £19m, with £2.14m in extra business rates.
Outline permission was granted in 2023 and 2021 for much of the proposed development site, but the latest scheme extends beyond the boundaries of both consents.
Papers submitted to the council state the market demand for larger scale buildings which can be adapted to changing requirements are in “incredibly high” demand, particularly with firms that use robotics and automation.
The application states: “The rise in e-commerce is characterised by a shift from business-to-business distribution to business-to-consumer distribution, which requires a more diverse range of spaces within a warehouse, including higher quality back office spaces such as photo studios or spaces for editing online content creation.
“Examples include Getir, Gousto and Hello Fresh.”
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Referring to the number of lorries accessing the proposed Greenbox site, the documents state the traffic had already been “considered and judged acceptable” through the granting of the planning permissions and a transport study had concluded the increased floorspace would result in “a negligible additional impact on transport”.
It states: “The uplift will result in only two additional arrivals and one additional departure during the AM peak, with one additional arrival and two additional departures at the PM peak.”
Some residents, including those of a caravan site close to the proposed development, have raised concerns some of the latest development scheme had not been included in the consent for the site which was approved two years ago and say any further lorries in Topcliffe would be unacceptable.
As part of the permission for Dalton 49, it was agreed developers would pay about £50,000 for signs to warn unsuitable lorries not to enter the village and about £50,000 for enforcement exercises. In addition, developers have agreed to fund number plate recognition cameras for Topcliffe.
Topcliffe Parish Council chair, Councillor Jamie Moores, said he would be writing to planners as an individual to express concerns “this is not what we were led to believe”.
He added: “Everyone is saying the same thing. We are concerned this is deviating from the plan that was agreed two years ago.”