Wildlife oasis in Milton Keynes set to go under concrete at a price – £718,000

The spare triangular piece of land off Bletcham Way lies between Simpson Road, the A5, and has the giant Fenny Lock warehouse to the south and near the Mount Farm industrial area.

And while the 4.38 hectares of undeveloped land used to be a spoil heap, and had more recently been earmarked for a traveller site, it has since grown over with trees and undergrowth.

Developer Log Lux Sarl now wants to build two 12.5 metre tall distribution warehouses on the site to take advantage of Milton Keynes being seen as a hot distribution hub.

Thursday’s meeting of the development control committee will be told that the 17,000 sq m of employment floorspace could bring in more than 240 jobs. Councillors have been asked to consider it because it would be a change of policy for the land.

Planning officers are set to tell the councillors that where development would “likely harm a site” it can only be permitted if the developers pay to protect biodiversity somewhere else in the city.

The committee has been recommended to approve the proposal which would see a payment made by the developer of £718,000 for “biodiversity offsetting”.

An agreement, which is set to be signed after the committee meeting, will also be seeking payments of £459,250 for passenger transport, and £91,460 for public art, among a total section 106 contribution bill of £1,315,397.