In a rare planning victory, the Junction fund, run by Capital & Regional and Morley Fund Management, has been granted planning permission by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to more than double the size of a retail park at Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.
The Cambridge retail park houses a mix of national and multiple retailers, but at 95,000 sq ft (9,000 sq m) is too small to support the fund's full Junction format.
Unusually, the local authority has been keen to see the site extended onto adjoining land off Cambridge Close, and it granted consent for a 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sq m) scheme.
However, despite the local council having no quibble, and the proposal being in keeping with the local plan, the project was still called in by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
A public inquiry took place in April and Prescott finally approved the scheme late last month.
'We expect building work to start later this year,' said Capital & Regional chief executive Martin Barber.
Talks have been under way with a DIY anchor for some time, and the park has now been earmarked for what Capital & Regional calls 'Junctionisation'.
The move will involve the construction of a central services building, called the Pod, designed specifically to attract service occupiers not normally found on a retail park.
The only existing Pod so far is at the Junction's Hull site, where occupiers include Starbucks coffee shop and Carphone Warehouse.
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