Plans to build three new industrial units in Letchworth have been green lit by North Herts Council's planning committee.

At a meeting on Thursday, August 21 councillors unanimously went along with a recommendation from officers that they grant planning permission for the development at Starwood House on Avenue One in Letchworth's industrial estate.

The applicant, Letchworth Investment LLP, will be able to demolish the existing building – previously used by Tesco as a data centre and research and development facility – and replace it with three units across two new buildings.

The new buildings will have permission for flexible use classes, so they could be used, for example, for research and development, for general industrial purposes or for storage and distribution.

They will be accompanied by 106 vehicle parking spaces, including 20% with electric vehicle charging, and 72 cycle parking spaces, as well as dedicated HGV docking areas for each unit. 

Lyndon Gill, a planning director acting as agent for the applicant, said: "Their aspiration is to bring this site, which has been vacant and under-utilise for some time, back into beneficial economic use for which it is zoned, with flexible commercial space that can be occupied by a wide range of tenants.

"The design is informed by local market expertise and modern tenant requirements, which maximise the prospects of successfully letting the units."

He added that the site could deliver between 120 and 350 new jobs and that the applicant aims to "start works before the end of the year".

Cllr Daniel Allen said the design was "brilliant" but raised concerns about the number of parking spaces and potential issues with a narrowed junction from the site onto Avenue One.

Details around the junction are still being ironed out, and the planning permission has been granted subject to Hertfordshire Highways not objecting to the finalised plans.

Cllr Tina Bhartwas praised the development's "sustainability standards", which include an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A+.

She said she thought they would "be driving up the standards for other applications in that area in the future".

The buildings, which will be within the Letchworth Employment Area, will be 105m by 54m and 69m by 71.5m.

Earlier this year, the applicant asked the council for prior approval to demolish the existing building, but this was not deemed necessary by the council.