Asda will put forward extensive impact study

Its purpose is to set out the terms of research for the environmental impact assessment which will accompany Asda's outline planning application for its store at the end of this year.

Drivers Jonas has set out ten matters upon which the Oldlands Farm store and its adjoining business park on land currently used for arable crops will be assessed.

These are: archaeology, ecology and nature conservation, environmental, water, transport, noise, air quality, landscape and visual issues, agricultural circumstances and utilities infrastructure.

For water, the investigation will consider the drainage required for the scheme to go ahead, flooding risks and ensuring ground water remains safe.

The transport studies will look at the impact of the development on a wide range of groups such as residents, pedestrians and cyclists.

Present conditions on all the main roads will be considered and used as a basis to see which routes the extra vehicles generated during the building works for the scheme and its first year of full occupation will use and how many there will be.

'It's likely that the level of traffic during the construction phase will be less then when the development is first fully occupied,' Drivers Jonas states. But there may be a greater volume of larger vehicles.

'Likewise, although traffic levels will generally increase in time, the greatest impact the development will have is likely to be in its first year of full occupation.'

Noise levels will be considered from both the building works and vehicles servicing the site and its occupied uses.

The pollution impact of work on the site and during its operation on the air quality on homes and vegetation closest to the location will be assessed as well.

The visual affect of the development will measure how it will appear during construction, upon completion and 15 years later.