New employment site being planned near the National Bowl in Milton Keynes

Construction company the Carey Group has been told by the council that its plans for the land at Elfield Park, off Standing Way, do not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Planning officers at Milton Keynes Council earlier this month told the developers that they believe the proposal would be “unlikely to have significant adverse environmental impacts.”

The 6.67 hectare site is between the A5 and the West Coast Mainline rail line, with the National Bowl and a nature reserve close by.

If ultimately successful the development would see 6,959 sq-m of business floorspace, 25,850 sq-m for plant and yard space, a pumping station and an electrical sub-station.

The highest of five business buildings would be some 13m (42ft) high.

Agents for the developers have looked back into the history of the area and say that from the 1920s to the 1970s a part of the site was home to an isolation hospital for infectious diseases.

It was then home to a poultry farm until the mid-1980s, and then became the home of a motorcycle track.

The developers say the site is hidden from view apart from near the base of a motor auction.

Among the proposals is a new junction off the northbound Standing Way, 170m north of the Elfield Park roundabout.

Developers’ agents Savills are anticipating starting work on preparing the site this year, with occupation of the first building in 2022.