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Retail giant's new HQ bid backed by planners

Getty Images Shoppers and visitors on Oxford Street outside Sports Direct's flagship store in London in June 2024. People are walking outside the shop and coming out of the entrance and one woman, in a beige coat, is looking at her phone. Another woman is sat on a ledge outside the shop looking at her phone. Getty Images
Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley set up Frasers Group and remains a main shareholder

Retail giant Frasers Group's plans to build a new headquarters on green belt land has been recommended for approval.

The proposals for a "campus headquarters" on 112.9 hectares near Ansty village in Warwickshire include a 100-room hotel, warehouses, research and development facilities, helipad, swimming pool and sports pitches.

Rugby Borough Council received about 200 objections to the scheme, including from eight parish councils.

But council planners said it met "very special circumstances", including providing many economic benefits. It will be considered at a committee meeting on Wednesday.

Rugby Borough Council The proposed site on a map. The site is shown in red and above it is the word 'Ansty'. It is next to the M6 and other place names are around it. Rugby Borough Council
The development would be built south of the village of Ansty

If approved, the HQ would be referred to the government's National Planning Casework Unit because of its size and green belt location.

Complaints about the proposal at Crowner Fields Farm and Home Farm, Hinckley Road, include over the loss and damage to green belt land.

Objections also include fears of a "significant" increase in traffic; permitting the HQ would "set a precedent" for other green belt development and that damage to the land was irreversible.

Some people also questioned whether "such a large new facility" had demonstrated the special circumstances required under green belt policy.

Many of the parties contacted by planners raised no objections, subject to their conditions.

Planning officers recommended the proposal for approval, with more than 90 conditions in place.

The new HQ would replace Frasers Group's main headquarters in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, and put its warehouse operations in the same location.

The retail group's application said this would increase its processing capacity "by up to 50%", with the new campus boosting the UK economy by about £69m per year and would potentially "support up to 750 additional shops with 11,000 new jobs in towns and cities across the country".

Getty Images Pedestrians pass sales promotion signs outside a House of Fraser department store, operated by Frasers Group Ltd, on Oxford Street, London, in July 2020. The pedestrians and signs are reflected in the shop window. Getty Images
The Frasers Group said the scheme would increase its productivity and lead to more shops across the UK

Locally, it was estimated the scheme would lead to about 480 construction jobs and the development provide about 5,800 full-time roles, planning officers said.

"The scale of job creation represents a significant uplift in employment for Rugby Borough and therefore holds significant weight," they added.

Frasers was established by Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, the group's controlling shareholder.

Starting out as a single sportswear shop, the retail empire includes many brands such as Game, Jack Wills and Evans Cycles.

The committee meeting at 17:30 GMT is being shown on a livestream.

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