Privacy fears over plans for car park at Grove Business Park

Several objections have been raised against plans to create a five-storey decked car park with 500 spaces at the entrance to Grove Business Park.

The application is part of expansion plans by the Oxford Endowment Fund to develop 35,000 sqm of space at the site.

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But traders on the business park have raised concerns during a public consultation by the planning authority, Vale of White Horse District Council.

Rebecca Tring, who works in a unit near the proposed location, said: “If the multi-storey carpark is granted permission, the impact it will have on myself and my colleagues situated in the business unit right next to the proposed location, will be terrible.

A multi-storey car park similar to what has been proposed (Image: SRA Architects)

“Feeling that there could be drivers watching what we are doing at our desks is not only intrusive, it breaks elements of the confidentiality of our work.”

Debbie Malin, general manager of Astrosystems Ltd, owns two units near the proposed site of the car park.

She said: “Cars will be level with our office windows, where we are handling sensitive matter (foreign currency).

“We do not have tinted glass so would feel exposed.”

It was not just the impact on privacy that concerned Ms Malin, who has been a tenant and now owner on the business park since 1998.

She said: “Once the car park is in use, we will be impacted by the noise from the cars coming and going throughout the day; plus, with the construction work prior to it being built.

“With cars coming and going all day, there will be a huge increase in traffic fumes causing pollution and affecting staff working in these offices, especially those with asthma.

Grove Business Park (Image: Grove Business Park))

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“In addition, the dust and fumes will affect the outside of the building - panels and windows, meaning we will need to pay for additional and more regular cleaning and maintenance.

“The car park will be a magnet to young people, drinking, using drugs, smoking and using the carpark for racing their own cars through it, as well as leaving excessive amounts of litter.

“This already happens on the business site after hours and will only increase with a multi-storey car park."

The Oxford Endowment Fund was contacted for comment but did not respond.

When the expansion plans were announced in August, a spokesman said: “The proposed increase in quality and scale of the park, together with the new investment and job opportunities created in the life sciences, innovation and technology sectors is a really important resource for the region.”