Plans for 700-car storage site set for approval in Hilton

Land on a former Ministry of Defence site in a Derbyshire village is set to be turned into storage for 700 vehicles for a nearby used car dealership. Plans from P.M Harris Ltd would see several acres of land on the former MoD site at The Mease in Hilton – now largely new housing – turned into a large car storage area.

A prep centre for the used car supermarket business Hilton Garage, sits opposite the site in Lowman Way, while businesses the DA Hulse Caravan Repair Centre, UK Car Broker and Overton Prestige car dealership sit nearby off Isis Way. South Derbyshire District Council planners have recommended that the scheme be approved at a meeting on Tuesday, November 12.

Hilton Parish Council has objected to the plans due to concerns over the impact of the scheme on flooding on nearby roads and the railway line. Residents have submitted 15 letters, with most opposing the scheme due to the impact of lighting the site, flooding concerns, privacy concerns over the associated CCTV, and worries about road safety, particularly close to the nearby soft play centre.

District council officers, recommending approval, wrote: “It is considered that the proposal will meet the expansion of an existing small business within Hilton that operates nearby to the application site through allowing an increase in the amount of cars that can be held in storage for the business.

“It is proposed for there to be 80 car trips and eight car transporter deliveries in total at the application site entrance. This has been shown that this is less than 100 trips in total over a day and would be less than if an alternative use was provided for the site.”

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