A BUSINESS park on the eastern edge of Frome is set to expand after plans for a new warehouse and a series of smaller units, creating nearly 200 new jobs.
Rockhaven Developments Ltd has put forward plans to build out vacant land at the south-western corner of the Commerce Park, which lies off the busy A361.
The plans envision a new warehouse and up to 61 new small business units being created near the existing properties on Compton Gardens and Croscombe Gardens.
Mendip District Council is expected to make a final decision on the plans later in the year.
The new buildings (collectively dubbed the Malthouse Business Centre) will be constructed at the end of Cornbrash, near the existing bases of Primavera and Acheson & Acheson.
The land has already been fenced off to the public and earth has started to be cleared between the road and the railway line.
The new warehouse will be split into two units, with 61 light industrial or storage units being delivered in nine separate blocks across the remainder of the site.
A spokesman for the applicant said: “The proposed buildings have been designed to respond to the scale and materials of the existing building at the wider Commerce Park site, and have been mindful of the parameters established by the original outline planning permission.
“The development also has regard to the potential for overshadowing and impact on privacy, and would maintain an acceptable impact on nearby residential properties.”
The site will be built out in two phases, with the new facilities expected to create up to 195 new jobs for the companies wishing to occupy the area.
More than 200 new car parking spaces will be provided on the site, as well as seven spaces for motorcycles, 14 disabled spaces and 36 cycle spaces.
After planning permission for the park was granted in 2004, the council put a policy in place dictating that all future applications concerning the site would be debated in public by the planning board, rather than decided by officers using delegated powers.
The council’s planning officers attempted to overturn this in October 2019, but councillors voted unanimously to block this change.
The council previously approved numerous plans to expand other areas of the park, including a new spur road on Imperial Way and the expansion of the existing Watsons Gym Equipment building.
Officers have not confirmed how soon the plans will come before the planning board for deliberation.
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