PLANNERS are backing Northern Powergrid creating a combined site south of York.

City of York Council’s planning committee are due to determine the application at Chessingham Park on the Derwent Valley Industrial Estate, Dunnington, when it meets tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon.

A report by council planning staff notes that on balance the proposal meets a range of national and local planning policies, though conditions would be imposed, such as the company contributing £10,000 towards a travel plan for the business park.

Northern Powergrid seek to build a storage and distribution warehouse and associated offices.

Some 58 people would be employed on the site, with parking for 50 vehicles and 12 bikes.

The report said: “The proposed building will be used for storage of short term and emergency stock to enable Northern Powergrid to ensure that the operation of the electrical network is maintained.

“The new office building will allow Northern Powergrid to amalgamate two of their existing York sites, one office (Toft Green) and one warehouse (Birch Park, Huntington, into a new shared facility.”

Council planners noted no objections to the scheme, with one supporter saying the site has been ‘neglected’ for some years.

Previously, the Press reported the 0.88ha site is currently vacant and was previously used as a storage facility. It had been occupied by Shepherd Construction and Engineering and the buildings were demolished in 2019/20 and the site cleared prior to Northern Powergrid’s tenancy.

The planning application, submitted early this year, said: “The site at Dunnington is strategically located to provide a new logistics warehouse and office hub for the Yorkshire area.”

It added: “The development is considered to be appropriate in both scale and density while having regard to the character of its immediate surroundings.”