A HUGE business development featuring 90 commercial units and five office blocks is in the pipeline for a village.

Evolve Colchester has lodged an application to Tendring Council to build the office and storage units at Crown Business Centre, in Old Ipswich Road, Ardleigh.

The development site is on a vacant golf range and runs parallel to the A12.

Numerous applications on the site have been approved in recent years, which include building 77 small commercial units and five office blocks.

Permission for this was granted in August but the latest application seeks to increase the number of units from 77 to 90 on the 2.3-hectare site.

The planning statement, submitted to the council’s planning website, said: “The development is designed to create a flexible work environment that can accommodate a mixture of uses, from start-up businesses to storage, to manufacturing.

“This flexible accommodation will allow for the changing property needs for small companies, and meet differing demands.”

The accommodation would be split into two different types of unit.

One half would be five business units, which would be two storeys high.

The other half would be occupied by the 90 business units with accommodation for mixed small business uses.

The main focus of the revised plans has revolved around the retention and protection of an oak tree.

The planning application said proposed development would give rise to a number of planning benefits, such as being a significant and high-quality economic investment on a prominent site.

It added: “The submitted proposals are the result of lengthy and detailed discussions with officers during the previous application.

“The submitted application effectively seeks approval for a revised scheme to allow for the increase in the number of Evolve units.”

But Karen Thompson, Ardleigh Parish Council’s clerk, said: “This council has objected in the past due to the extensive number of proposed buildings as it is too much.

“There are concerns about the traffic increasing on Old Ipswich Road too.”

Mrs Thompson said the traffic associated with the site would place a strain on the Ardleigh Crown interchange and Wick Lane.

In addition, she said parking allocations do not appear to be adequate as Old Ipswich Road is already used as a parking area.

Mrs Thompson said: “The main issues are the density of the units, the problems with an increase in traffic the development would cause and that there is no evidence the units will bring jobs into the area.”

Ardleigh Parish Council objected to the previous plans for 77 units last year for the same reasons.

Tendring Council will have the final say on the plans.