Warehousing complex to create 1,000 jobs
£30M DEVELOPMENT FOR 68-ACRE SITE GIVEN GREEN LIGHT
A HUGE warehouse complex which has just been approved for the north of the county is expected to bring almost 1,000 new jobs to the area.
The 68-acre site development will be built on the site of the Coal Lounge, Coal Preparation and Disposal Point, which took up the majority of the site until 2004, east of Ashby.
Planning for the £30 million proposal, called G Park, was approved by North West Leicestershire District Council on last week.
The site, which is now disused, falls inside the district’s Local Plan, which identifies the site as “suitable for employment provision”.
As well as the warehouses, G Park will also include offices, service yards, HGV parking and security facilities, as well as internal roads along with pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.
The developer behind the application, Gazeley, expects the site to create between 880 and 990 full-time jobs, as well as up to 510 more positions indirectly.
Gazeley, which owns Magna Park, near Lutterworth, will also contribute £750,000 to upgrade nearby roads.
Representations against the application included concerns about the size and scale of the building, traffic and the impact on air quality.
Among the chief objectors was the Ashby Civic Society, which said the scheme would “swallow up” more fields in open countryside, replacing them with visually intrusive six-storey-high warehouses.
In a letter of objection, the society said: “There is no economic sense in this project.
“The jobs provided by this facility would not go to employees in the local area.
“And there are many large distribution centres within eight miles of Ashby offering over 10,000 jobs.
“Why, then, proceed with this monstrous, ugly building if there is no chance of locals filling the vacancies?”
Despite these objections, the development will now go ahead following the approval.
Councillor Nigel Smith, chair of the council’s Planning Committee, said: “This was a difficult decision for the committee but on balance the opportunity to bring new jobs to North West Leicestershire on land already earmarked for employment proved decisive.
“The last nine months have been very difficult nationally, but this development offers a real economic boost for our district and new jobs for local people in the coming years of recovery from Covid-19.”