A council committee has paved the way for nearly a dozen units to be built off the northern approach to Bordon.

Access arrangements were put under the microscope when outline plans to build ten new units at Lion Court came before East Hampshire District Council (EHDC).

The site off the A325 consists of three existing large units with plans afoot to add ten more over three plots.

Two terraces of five and four industrial/commercial units have been proposed by applicants Fishron Securities Ltd along with a singular block, with the ten boasting a combined floor area of up to 5,003sqm.

The units could be used for a range of activities from general industrial, storage and research to industrial with the outline plans also including ancillary office space.

However, the application also proposes a wider junction on the A325 to allow easier access to the site by HGVs.

The first 30 metres of the access road will be 7.5 metres wide, narrowing to six metres, with new footpaths also proposed to improve links between the site, Techforest and the Heritage Quarter of Bordon.

Planning officers felt the proposals to widen the entrance to Lion Court would have an “adverse impact on the rural character of the A325” with the site being surrounded by woodlands and protected heathland nearby.

Some trees would be lost but the reduction was not enough to justify rejection as it would be offset by replanting and other “anticipated enhancements”.

“Overall, despite the loss of part of the plantation woodland, the proposals will not have a significant impact upon the landscape setting to justify refusal of the scheme,” wrote EHDC ahead of the final decision.

The application was approved by eight votes to zero, with no abstentions, when the EHDC Planning Committee met in Petersfield.