Plans five industrial units approved at Westry Avenue, March

Eastwood RVL March Ltd had applied to build the units together with a car park and cycle park on land south of March Trading Estate at Westry Avenue in March.

A report to Wednesday's Fenland planning committee admitted the application was OK in principle, but was recommending refusal because of concerns raised by highways over the Hostmoor Avenue junction with the A141.

Highways said the junction was at capacity, and that the current turn left only manoeuvres out of Hostmoor Avenue were causing problems at the Peashill roundabout, where drivers were forced to do U-turns if they wanted to go towards Wisbech.

Images of the site where five industrial units are set to be built in March. (Image: Fenland District Council)

However, councillors were not convinced by the highways' objections.

They said Fenland was "open for business", and to refuse industrial units on an industrial site went against that.

Cllr Charlie Marks said: "We have an industrial area. We are Fenland open for business, and it seems that we're not now open to business because highways haven't got their act together.

"It's not the developer that's got the issue. It seems to me it's highways that haven't got the budget, or haven't done something.

"So what are we going to do, stop building there? Where are we going to put this?"

Committee chair David Connor agreed: "This site is actually in the middle of an industrial site, and if you can't build industrial units in industrial sites, we might as well all go home."

He added that Fenland needed more industrial units.

Cllr Ian Benney suggested that by refusing the application, they would be allowing highways to push the improvements needed at Hostmoor Avenue further down the list.

He said: "I think it shows that the longer the county can put off doing this, the more they will, and when it gets to the point where there is a real crunch, then this will be done. It'll be better for March if this is approved."

Cllr French said it was not down to local businesses to suffer because the county council's highways had not secured the necessary funding to upgrade the junction.

She said Aldi, which opened last year on Hostmoor Avenue, paid £325,000 towards the installation of traffic lights at the junction.

But there is a strip of land needed on the opposite side of the road to ensure drivers would be able to turn right out of Hostmoor Avenue when the lights are installed, because at present the road is not wide enough to allow that to happen, and even with the lights, the junction would have to remain left turn only.

The committee felt it was up to highways to the junction sorted, and unanimously went against the officers to approve the application.