Retailers Travis Perkins have been granted permission to create a new building yard at Martlesham Heath Business Park.

The application for a new builder’s yard as well as outside display and storage area was put before Suffolk Coastal District Council’s planning committee this week.

The land had previously been part of the Martlesham Heath Airfield until it was decommissioned, it has been vacant since.

Travis Perkins’ application was referred to the committee for concerns about infrastructure around the site to be considered.

One of the biggest concerns with the application surrounded existing traffic at the park and how a new business could affect this particularly with the growth of nearby Adastral Park.

Councillors were particularly concerned by the number of HGV’s that the business would attract.

Representatives speaking on behalf of the applicant said that the increase would be very small and that only 15 HGV’s would be travelling to the site each day.

Woodbridge councillor Geoff Holdcroft also raised concerns about the site’s design: “This building provides a hard edge to the site.”

A representative from Martlesham Parish Council also raised concerns about the proposed access to the site from Hilton Road and suggested that a different approach be considered.

However, the committee praised the way that Travis Perkins had scaled back their plans for the site and acknowledged that the land would face further applications if the plans were not approved because of it’s status.

“It is the least bad way of using this site,” said Andy Smith, councillor for Felixstowe, “what other use would involve less traffic.”

Following a length debate councillors approved the plans with a number of conditions attached.

One of the conditions of the approval is that Travis Perkins will have to pay £24,250 over five years to help improve the condition of remaining land belonging to the Martlesham Common County Wildlife Site.

After approving the plans the committee asked a highways representative to consider looking at a joint up approach for the business park to consider the traffic issues they had raised during their debate.