Mike Ashley has won support for a 275-hectare Frasers site on the country’s green belt, despite evidence it will cause permanent damage to the land.
The proposed campus in Ansty has been recommended for approval by planning officers, despite them finding it would “clearly cause significant and permanent damage to the green belt by reducing its openness”.
The officials judged that the benefits of the facility justify the damage to the green belt, calling it “very special circumstances”.
The project includes five large warehouses, a 100-bed hotel, an area for testing store concepts, offices, a gym, a swimming pool, a training academy with classrooms and an auditorium, a nursery and multi-storey car parks.
Expected benefits for the site include a potential £69m economic boost to the UK. At the same time, a 10 percent increase in the nearby Rugby economy is also predicted.
The headquarters will be the largest facility of its kind in the UK, it is believed.
That’s what planning officials said The telegraph: “The totality of the economic, environmental and social benefits have been considered and the totality of the benefits clearly outweighs the combined weight of the damage to the green belt and any other damage, including the damage (and) damage to the retail and landscape (and) heritage.
Accordingly, there are very special circumstances required to justify the development (…) and the application should be approved.
The proposed plans for a 275 hectare Frasers site on the country’s green belt in Ansty
Mike Ashley has won support for a 275-hectare Frasers facility on the country’s green belt
The project includes five large warehouses (pictured), a hotel with 100 beds and a space to test store concepts
The headquarters will be the largest facility of its kind in the UK, it is believed
Planning officers judged the benefits of the facility to justify the damage to the green belt, calling it “very special circumstances”
The village of Ansty in Warwickshire (east of Birmingham) has been at the center of a planning dispute between residents and Frasers Group
The retail group, owned by billionaire businessman Ashley, is behind brands such as Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Evans Cycles.
It bought the development site for £53.5m in 2021.
A spokesman for Frasers Group previously told the Telegraph: “We have appointed a world-class team to develop the plans, so if approved the campus will respect the local area and have a positive impact on the biodiversity of the site.
“As a leading UK employer and taxpayer, we look forward to the benefits this campus would bring to communities at a local and national level.”
Among those previously opposed to the new site are six parish councillors, according to the Telegraph, all of whom criticized the plans as “inappropriate development” on green belt land.
Lee Hawkins, deputy chairman of Ansty Parish Council, said: ‘There is not a single person that I know of, or have spoken to, or who lives in any of the surrounding villages, who is in favor of it. Everyone is strongly against it.
