A storage and distribution warehouse is set to be built on land in Mill Hill that was previously earmarked for a major housing development.

Gleave Partnership won permission to build the warehouse and parking bays at Pentavia Retail Park in Watford Way. 

An 844-home scheme in blocks up to 15 storeys was previously planned for the mostly-disused retail park after it was approved by the Mayor of London in July 2019. But developer Meadow Residential withdrew the application – which had sparked nearly 700 objections from members of the public – the following March,

The distribution warehouse, which is expected to provide around 132 jobs, was approved by Barnet Council’s strategic planning committee during a meeting on Thursday. The town hall had received 15 written objections to the scheme, but no-one spoke against the plans during the meeting.

A council planning officer told the committee the warehouse would result in just 22 extra vehicle movements per day compared to the previous retail park use.

He said the scheme was expected to have a “negligible impact” on road junctions because the delivery vans would mostly be operating outside peak hours. The only junction where planning officers felt there would be an impact, at the Bunns Lane, Pursley Road and Page Street roundabout, could be remodelled to alleviate congestion, he explained.

The site will include 111 car parking spaces, including six disabled bays, with 20% provision for electric charging vehicles. There will also be a delivery van deck containing 449 spaces.

Ian Dix, director of transport consultants Vectos, said: “The phased development would represent a vast improvement on the site, which is currently under-utilised.”

Ian told the committee landscaping would be a “key component” of the scheme. He said a belt of vegetation to the north of the site separating it from Bunns Lane would be retained, and there would be “robust planting along its eastern border to mitigate the visual impacts of the development.”

Conservatives committee member Julian Teare said the scheme seemed like a “really sensible use of a rather difficult piece of land”. Liberal Democrat Gabriel Rozenberg said the site was appropriate for light industrial use and would bring jobs to the borough, while out-of-town retail sites were no longer needed.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the application.