A number of Aston by Stone residents fear the checkouts on the Stone Business Park grounds are an eyesore. There are also concerns about light pollution from the site, which is used to store vehicles.

But Stafford Borough Council’s planning committee has approved Jaguar Land Rover’s request to alter the use of a 2.9-hectare (7.2-acre) area of ​​the site to allow crates containing vehicle parts to be stored there. Committee members toured the area before making their decision at a special meeting on Monday.

Councilor Ann Edgeller said: ‘Looking at this site, I personally have no objection to it. What I would like to see is fix a collapsing fence.

“There is an embankment over there – why can’t we plant trees there? It would help with visibility.

Councilor Brendan McKeown, a member of the committee, said: ‘Today’s site visit, if anything, convinced us that the initial lighting approval was an appalling decision. The lights are so high and there are way too many.

“If this committee were in a position to ask, we need to reduce the amount of light pollution and visual intrusion. It seems to me quite useless to have so many lampposts when you can make security much easier with infrared beams.

Councilor Gareth Jones, who chaired the meeting, said: ‘I don’t think we are in a position to suggest that. But the point you made is valid, having seen what we have seen.

Jaguar Land Rover was granted permission for the 21-hectare (52-acre) vehicle storage site on land in Jasper Way in 2018, despite strong opposition from Stone community leaders and Aston by Stone residents .

A planning statement submitted as part of the latest application said: ‘This storage use is associated with the site’s primary vehicle storage and distribution use and will provide Jaguar Land Rover with additional flexibility in the use of the site and to maximize storage space. This storage use falls under use class B8, but due to the restrictive nature of condition 3, the storage of crates does not fall within the scope of the existing condition.

“Hours of operation for crates to be delivered to/from Stone would be between 7am and 5pm. Heavy weight movements will be less than what was previously considered acceptable, so there will be no significant change in the intensity of site usage.

“The layout scale and appearance of the site will not be changed. No physical modification is planned on the site.

“The proposal aims to use existing parking spaces to store the boxes. The maximum storage height will be no more than three meters (the height of the fence line) and no more than two crates high.