Iron Park is a 11.25ha business park scheme on a strategically significant site between Birmingham and Wolverhampton immediately adjacent to the Black Country New Road.
It is one of the few sites in the area capable of supporting over 400,000 sq ft of commercial space with the potential to generate up to 900 jobs. The site will deliver opportunities for new employment with socio-economic benefits for the area including enterprise and business development, commercial property, environmental improvement and local area renewal.
PJA were appointed by Parkhill Estates Ltd to provide transport and highways advice to support an outline planning application. The proximity of the site to the Moxley Gyratory and the limited available road frontage was a significant challenge both in respect of access design and addressing the local capacity concerns. There was a need to take account of land ownership constraints and opportunities and PJA liaised with Walsall Council in the development of a viable access to the site from a new signalised junction on Moxley Road, in the process ruling out a number of other access options through a comprehensive optioneering exercise.
In addition to access PJA provided a full Transport Assessment in line with Planning Practice Guidance which dealt with trip generation, trip distribution and addressed the sustainability of the site including relocating bus stops, cycle and walking improvements and enabling access to the canal towpath.
PJA actively engaged with Walsall Council from the outset and agreed key aspects of the scheme at the pre-application stage. As a result Walsall Council highways provided no objection subject to appropriate conditions and the planning authority resolved to grant planning consent at Committee in February 2019. Working closely with the client and the multidisciplinary project team was critical to the delivery of a workable planning consent that would, subject to subsequent reserved matters applications, enable its full delivery in line with the client’s aspirations.
