THERE has been a mixed response over plans to build a new £140 million university development in Cirencester.

An outline planning application for the proposed 29-acre site for the Royal Agricultural University was submitted to Cotswold District Council at the end of June.

The major project - also known as The Innovation Village - includes creating up to 27,600sqm of office, research, development, education, and conferencing spaces.

If approved, it is estimated approximately 1,240 jobs would be created at the development including during and after construction.

So far, there have been three objection comments and one comment of support from members of the public.

Other bodies including the National Grid, Natural England, National Highways and Historic England said they had no objections to the scheme.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Cirencester College said they are "broadly supportive" of the plans.

Cirencester Town Council also said they "welcome elements" of the proposal but also raised concerns about student accommodation and access.

An artist's impression of the proposed £140M Innovation Village in Cirencester (Image: Royal Agricultural University)

One resident described the proposed development as "beneficial".

"The applicants have demonstrated how the overall amount of development, could be accommodated, on the site, still retaining an open, not overdeveloped site," they said.

In contrast, three residents raised fears over highway access, privacy, light, noise, and fears of overdevelopment.

One objector described the proposed scheme as "madness" and suggested the scheme was not "sustainable".

"This is madness," they said.

"Universities are in crisis with many facing deficits and risks of closure, and with declining birth rates going to be an increasing feature affecting educational establishments, yet the RAU thinks there are not enough, and wants to expand its student numbers by 4% per year and become a world class facility.

"This is not sustainable.

"It would make more sense to invest the £140 million in bailing out an existing university which already has suitable facilities like a conference centre, or finance a hub overseas."

A Cirencester College spokesperson said in an approval comment: "We request that we are fully involved in any transport consultation exercise due to our proximity and the fact that we need to transport 3,000 plus students to our site every day.

"Our T-level students require 45 day work placements, so we hope the university would consider offering these during the construction and operational phases of the project.

"This will offer an ideal opportunity for broader community engagement amongst our diverse student body."

A Cirencester Town Council spokesperson said in an approval comment: "Given its standing as the UK's leading specialist university for agriculture and land use, a key economic asset for the district as a whole, CTC supports this outline application in principle.

"Previous concerns related to risk to pollution but CTC welcomes elements of these proposals which will encourage and support active travel, cycling and use of public transport."

Graham Pollard, RAU chief operating officer, previously said: "The Innovation Village is a cluster development that will accommodate organisations and expertise from academia, industry and policy-making in order to generate real-world solutions to the global challenges of food production, climate change and land health.

"The Innovation Village will be of national and international significance, leveraging the support of the RAU's established network of global partners."

If the development is approved, it is hoped first phase pre-construction will begin in 2025.

Meanwhile, first phase post-construction could start in 2028 with the full project completed in 2040.

You can view the application quoting 24/01143/OUT or see here - tinyurl.com/hzkdkd7m