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Mike Ashley wins backing for green belt mega-headquarters

    Mike Ashley's retail empire has received official backing for a huge new headquarters in Warwickshire, despite finding it will permanently damage the county's green belt.

    The 275 hectare Frasers facility on agricultural land in Ansty has been recommended for approval by planning officers, even though they found it would “clearly cause substantial and permanent damage to the green belt by reducing its openness”.

    In a 208-page report, planning officers ruled that the benefits of the development justified the “damage” to the greenbelt, calling it “very special circumstances”.

    The project consists of five warehouses totaling 3.3 m², each supposedly larger than the village itself; a hotel with 100 beds; a space to test out retail concepts; offices; a gym, swimming pool and other sports facilities; a training academy with classrooms and an auditorium; a children's room; multi-storey parking garages; and a helipad.

    Benefits of the site include a potential £69 million economic boost for Britain and potential support for up to 750 additional stores with 11,000 new jobs across Britain. A 10% boost to the nearby Rugby economy is also expected.

    It is thought the headquarters will be the largest facility of its kind in Britain, with planning officials from the Labour-run Rugby Borough Council noting that Google, McLaren, Dyson, Nike and Adidas have similar so-called campuses internationally. The base was designed by Grimshaw, the architectural firm behind the Eden Project.

    Planning officers said: “The totality of the economic, environmental and social benefits have been taken into account and the totality of the benefits clearly outweighs the combined weight of the damage to the green belt and all other damage, including damage to retail and the landscape. [and] heritage damage.

    “Consequently, very special circumstances exist which are necessary to justify the development… and the application must be approved.

    “National economic benefits weigh significantly in the balance.”

    The retailer, which was founded by Mr Ashley in 1982 and owns brands including Sports Direct, Flannels, Jack Wills and Evans Cycles, will also produce around £9 million in business rates for the council.

    The fundamental aim underlying green belt policy is to “keep land permanently open” to reduce so-called “urban sprawl”. In this case the plans were expected to reduce the gap between Coventry and the towns of Nuneaton and Bedworth.

    Other “damage” identified included a “significant negative impact” on Coventry city centre. The city council warned of a potential turnover loss of 4 percent, because the headquarters would likely lead to fewer customers and the closure of competing stores.

    The plans for the new head office were received with 194 objections, of which only one was in favor.

    Campaigners are angry that this designated agricultural land is being used for other purposes.

    Jerry Foss, leader of the Save Ansty Green Belt campaign group, warned that farmland “is impossible to bring back” once it is lost.

    Mr Foss said: “It is of course an issue that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer raised last year that such land should be protected because of the value of agricultural land needed to secure food supplies in Britain.

    “As Lord Keir [previously] stated, “Losing a farm is not the same as losing any other business; it can't come back'.

    “It is therefore quite unfortunate that, given the current Treasury proposals for inheritance tax on farms, farmers may lose out on profits from farming businesses and will see land sales as one of the few ways in which they can protect their investments and finances . ”

    Mr Foss claimed the recommendation to approve the application “seeks to place a high priority on low-value imported goods” from “low-paying countries” over the “value of the UK creative production industry”.

    These plans will be discussed and voted on during a council committee meeting this week.

    Frasers bought the land three years ago for £53.5 million.

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