PLANS to use a Longtown site to store operational vehicles have been approved.

The application for the Woodlands Industrial Storage Estate site was submitted to Cumberland Council and it has been passed by planning officers.

As well as the vehicle storage the applicant had asked for permission for associated parking, vehicle barriers, a welfare facility and associated infrastructure.

According to the council's decision notice planning permission was granted for a number of reasons including:

  • The development shall begin no later than within three years of permission being granted;
  • The development shall be undertaken in strict accordance with the approved documents which were submitted as part of the planning application;
  • Prior to the commencement of the development the applicant should submit details of tree and hedgerow protection fencing to be installed on the site for approval in writing by the local planning authority;
  • Access and parking arrangements shall be constructed in accordance with the approved drawings.

According to a planning statement the site measures approximately 0.95 hectares, comprises of existing open hardstanding and is located within Woodlands Industrial Estate, Longtown.

The report states: "The application site lies in the centre of an industrial estate and is bound to the immediate north and west by areas of hardstanding and a warehouse associated with the existing employment uses within the estate.

"A woodland area lies adjacent to the east of the site, whilst further afield open  undeveloped countryside lies to the north, south, east and west of the site.

"Other industrial/commercial uses lie to the south east of the application site and are enclosed by further areas of woodland.

"Further industrial/commercial uses are located on the southern side of the A6071 and to the south west of the application site.

"Access to the site is via an internal estate road that links to the A6071 to the south, which connects the site to Longtown and Smithfield."

According to the report there are no designated heritage assets on the site. It adds: "The closest heritage assets are the Battle of Solway Moss 1542 battlefield - a designated battlefield and historic garden - which is located approximately 1km north-west of the appraisal site, and the RAF Longtown airfield which is located approximately 1.2km north of the site.

"The site does not lie within or close to a conservation area. The site is not within a designated conservation area and the building is not listed. The site is within Flood Zone 1 and is therefore in an area with a low probability of flooding."