Plans for a major new development in Leamington town centre have been given the green light. 

The scheme, which will see the creation of a new town centre 620-space car park, offices for Warwick District Council and private housing, was approved by the council’s Planning Committee. A separate outline planning application for up to 170 new homes on the current site of the council headquarters on Milverton Hill – the sale of which will fund the new HQ – was also approved.

The move from Riverside House to the town centre will save the council over £300,000 a year in running costs, improve accessibility for customers and increase footfall and spend for local businesses.

Councillor Andrew Mobbs, Leader of Warwick District Council, said: "We are very pleased with the decision which will bring a major economic boost to Leamington and the wider district.

"Covent Garden has long been in need of major investment and this scheme will create a landmark development fitting to this key Leamington town centre location. The new development will support local businesses by providing a state of the art car-park with greater capacity, cycle storage and electric vehicle charging points, much needed town centre housing and smaller, more efficient and more accessible offices for the council and our customers.

"This has never been about politics it has been about economic common sense and regeneration. The reality is that the new council HQ will save over £300,000 a year in running costs, funds which we can use to maintain or improve the vital and high-quality services we provide. Importantly this project does not require us to dip into council reserves or borrow money to achieve these savings, as the sale of the Riverside House site will fund the new offices.

"The inevitable disruption that the closure of the existing car parks will cause while the new car park is built has also been a major concern to many people. In addition to what was agreed by Planning Committee I can confirm that further proposals for temporary alternative parking will be brought forward to our Executive as a priority.

"I also recognise that some residents local to Milverton Hill have raised a range of concerns about the future development of the Riverside House site and we will work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that the development is carried out with maximum sensitivity and minimum disruption."