300 jobs on the way as Gosport's Brockhurst Gate retail park set to see new building
A Gosport retail park will be expanded and see more businesses move into a new building - bringing 300 jobs to the area.
The Brockhurst Gate Retail Park will feature a new structure that will be designated for light industrial and logistics uses after a planning application was passed.
Gosport Borough Council’s regulatory board granted permission for a 2,235sqm building subdivided into five units north of the retail park, adjacent to Heritage Way.
The site was originally used as a civil service sports ground and the Frater/Bedenham house MoD buildings - it is now home to a McDonald's, Costa Coffee, a Lidl, Iceland Food Warehouse, Jollyes Pet Store, an M&S Foodhall, and Home Bargains.
It opened in 2019.
Speaking on behalf of the applicants (Millngate Gosport Estates Ltd) agent Mark Harris from Freeths LLP said: ‘‘The proposal has net social economic and environmental benefits for the area which are significant.
‘It is a high-quality development to attract new business investment in this part of Gosport and increase the amount of employment floorspace available to potential occupiers.
‘The floorspace is designed to be flexible to accommodate new tenants, this includes national, regional and local businesses with Screwfix involved in the development of Unit 10 which is the unit next to the site entrance.
‘There will also be an enhancement of the Heritage Way frontage with a high-quality landscape and architectural design and the creation of new job opportunities expected to be in the region of 200 posts.
‘This excludes temporary construction jobs which will be in the region of 100 posts over the controlled 12-month construction period.
‘Jobs on the site could be new, or they could be transferred from existing businesses elsewhere which is something that can be controlled.
‘It should be viewed as a positive, as the aim is to provide a platform to improve existing prospective businesses in Gosport.’
The scheme was approved unanimously by councillors on the regulatory board.
The applicant must pay £277,000 as part of a section 106 agreement, which will go towards providing or improving football facilities in Gosport, and will also have to fund £25,000 worth of improvements to the A32 to mitigate any effects on traffic.