INCREASED traffic on the Brighton Hill Roundabout was one of the concerns of residents who attended a consultation event on plans to create a major new retail park in Basingstoke.

As reported in The Gazette, Area Estates has launched a project to develop the former Smiths Industries site, in Winchester Road, which has been empty for 20 years.

Around 160 people attended a consultation event held by the company, where they heard more about its plans to create St Michael’s Retail Park, which would include seven separate warehouse retail units, including brands such as Oak Furnitureland, Furniture Village, Sofology, Tapi and Aldi, along with four smaller restaurants and coffee shops, such as Nando’s and Costa.

The site was previously owned by Tesco, which sold it after shelving controversial plans to build a new supermarket, following refusal from the borough council.

As part of its plans, the company planned to install synchronised signals at the Brighton Hill Roundabout to control traffic, and create pedestrian access and cycle paths.

But Area Estates said it does not have an specific plans as yet for the local road network.

Those attending the consultation spoke to representatives from Area Estates about how traffic in the area would be managed, particularly at the Brighton Hill Roundabout.

Area Estates said that it will have detailed discussions with the highways department about possible changes to the roundabout, and is happy to contribute towards the improvements required.

Duncan McEwan, director of property developers Fintry Estates, which has partnered with Pears Property to launch the project, said: “We had a good turnout over both days of the exhibition. So I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to come and talk to us and share their ideas, and to thank The Gazette for including details of the consultation in the paper.

“We’ve had a lot of detailed feedback and are currently analysing it all before we finalise our plans.

"If you couldn’t make it along to the events, there’s still plenty of time to let us know what you think. The consultation is running over the summer. All the information we had at our event is now available on our website, including our feedback form. So if you haven’t got involved yet, please get in touch.”

The new retail park is set to create hundreds of new jobs.

For details visit stmichaels-retailpark.com.