Winchester civic chiefs say they are doing what they can to help businesses relocate from a farm earmarked for redevelopment

Bury Farm Industrial Estate near Curbridge will be part of the 3,500-home North Whiteley development.

Cllr Roger Huxstep, who represents Whiteley and Shedfield ward, asked at full Council what was being done to help the business move. Several have complained that the council has done little to help.

Cllr Rob Humby, portfolio holder for business partnerships, said; "They have known since at least 2015 that they would have to leave and the Council engaged with many of them in 2015 and 2016 to offer assistance in finding new premises.

"Understandably, however, most found it difficult to justify the commitment involved until they had a definite date by which they would have to vacate. The housebuilder Crest, who now own the site, will not ask businesses to leave until it is absolutely necessary for their premises to be given up and this gives many of them some time to find new accommodation, but some have been given notice for January 2019."

 

Cllr Humby said the city council, working with Crest and the Solent LEP, is offering one to one support to each business to understand its requirements and commercial expectations. With this information it will be possible to provide some targeted support with property search, addressing regulatory and licensing issues, and possibly with relocation assistance for each business based on its own circumstances.

All the businesses were invited to a meeting on Tuesday last week for an initial discussion and information sharing session with members of Cabinet and officers in the economic development team.

Cllr Humby said; "This proved a worthwhile and successful exercise to understand more precisely the relocation requirements and business constraints on a one-to-one basis."