E-commerce giant Amazon is expanding its operations in Plymouth with planning consent given for a huge van park for more than 250 vehicles designed to ease traffic flow in the area, prevent accidents and address residents’ complaints.
London-based project management specialist Lysander Associates has secured permission from Plymouth City Council, conditional on S106 arrangements, to develop a 1.94-hectare patch of land at Estover, in the north of the city, which is currently used as a mixed storage site.
The idea is to demolish temporary buildings on the site and redevelop it as a van park, complete with electric vehicle charging points, floodlights, motorcycle bays, smoking shelter and even bathroom facilities for drivers.
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The land is next to the Airport Business Park and
At the moment, the centre is served by drivers turning up in their own vehicles, but the idea is for the new Van Storage Area, off Thornbury Road, to contain space for 264 Amazon vehicles.
The land, part of the wider Eaton Business Park, will then become a van park where drivers can collect and drop-off vehicles, cutting down traffic congestion, which has been unpopular with nearby residents, and preventing collisions after a number of “near misses”.
Initially, 20% of the vehicles will be electrically powered, but it is envisaged that the entire fleet will soon be electrified. Granting conditional permission, council planners said it would boost the city’s economy and have no effect on operation of Plymouth’s closed airport - if it should ever reopen.
An officers’ report said:: “The nature of the operations are not considered to have an adverse impact on the potential reopening of the airport and will in turn provide greater economic and environmental benefits to the city.”
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A document submitted with the planning application said: “This application seeks to create a delivery vehicle storage hub in support of existing operations at Tamar House. Tamar House, also located on Thornbury Road is in B8 Use (storage and distribution), presently occupied by online retailer Amazon.
“Existing operations at Tamar House, sought through an earlier Lawful Development Certificate application, have become incredibly intensive which is having a knock on impact on the local highway resulting in a number complaints and near misses from residents and businesses.
“This application therefore in part will solve these local issues, whilst at the same time providing a more sustainable delivery service for the operations at Tamar House.”
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The document continued: “Currently the warehouse is served by vans that are owned or leased by the drivers. Under the new proposal local drivers would arrive at the site by various means of transport, collect a van and leave the site to make their deliveries.
“Once all deliveries have been made, drivers would return the vans to the site, collect their own vehicles (if they have driven to the site), or travel home by other means of transport.
“It is proposed for vans to access the site to the South East on the existing access road, manoeuvring around the site following the linear arrangement of spaces.”
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The application is for the parking bays to accommodate 264 electric delivery vehicles and said: “All parking bays are provided with Electric Vehicle Charging Points (EVCP) although firstly the proposals include 20% EV provision, with the remaining 80% passive for future connection.
“A full package of works including drainage, surfacing, staff welfare block, guard unit, a smoking shelter, a cycle shelter, external floodlighting, automated access barriers and other remedial works and soft landscaping are proposed within the application details.”