THE largest employment site in Waverley Borough Council’s boundaries will be boosted by a new access road and a flagship automotive design company with 500 jobs.

Waverley’s joint planning committee approved both Dunsfold Business Park’s new direct link to the A281 and the relocation of Gordon Murray Designs at its meeting on October 30.

It’s now all systems go for the airfield – home to BBC’s Top Gear – with the launch of a public consultation on the masterplan to ‘firm up’ outline consent for 1,800 new houses, due to be held from November 13 to November 19.

Dunsfold Park has been allocated up to 2,600 homes in Waverley’s local plan and the housing scheme has been awarded Garden Village Status funds by the government to help ensure it is an eco-settlement.

Jim McAllister, Dunsfold Park chief executive, said: “The new road has been designed as a dramatic celebration of Dunsfold Park’s aviation heritage, extending the alignment of the main runway and lining up with the planned Runway Park for the new village.

“A double avenue of maple trees will commemorate the Royal Canadian Engineers who built the airfield in 1942.

“With consent now granted we anticipate starting work on the road early in the new year and for it to be complete spring/summer 2020.”

The new access road will link the A281 to the main perimeter road within the aerodrome site. It will be capable of accommodating existing traffic and is designed to be ‘future proof’ to cater for the phased implementation of the approved outline masterplan.

The road will also provide a more suitable and safer access for heavy goods vehicles than Stovolds Hill to the north and Dunsfold Road to the south.

As well as vehicular traffic, the new access will also provide facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, creating a new link between the existing aerodrome facilities and the surrounding rights of way network.

The new access road will be around a third of a mile long. The construction process will take between four to six months to complete, but it is anticipated that disruption to the A281 will be limited to a few weeks, because of the off-line construction phase.

The first phase will focus on the new roundabout with the A281.This has been designed so it can be built off-line without affecting the A281.

The work will be co-ordinated with Surrey County Council to manage the impact to traffic flow on the A281.