Green belt industrial estate plan for '400 jobs'

Plans have been put forward for a new industrial estate, which it is hoped will create more than 400 jobs.

Maximus Group wants to turn am 11.8-hectare area of green belt land off Blackpole Road on the edge of Worcester into a "high-quality employment development".

The site is between Blackpole Road, the A449, Barbourne Brook and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.

Maximus Group director Jon Hickton said the development would support "economic growth and productivity", adding: "We've already had substantial interest from potential occupiers and discussions will continue as we progress through planning."

Previous plans for industrial units on the land were rejected by Worcester City Council in 2016 for being inappropriate development of the green belt.

It has since been allocated for employment use in various local plans, but was removed from the most recent South Worcestershire Development Plan Review.

Planning inspectors and the council felt the city's needs could be met at Worcestershire Parkway, where land has already been earmarked for business use.

Maximus Group said the development would be suitable for manufacturing, logistics and light industry and had the potential to create 440 jobs.

Its outline plan stated the site was in a "sustainable location" and that pre-application advice from council planners indicated it "may have the potential to be considered grey belt".

It said: "Further evidence is required to demonstrate that the site does not contribute strongly to green belt purposes, particularly regarding safeguarding the countryside from encroachment and encouraging the recycling of land."

The site was located next to "a large existing and long-established employment area", the developer added.

"Both Blackpole Trading Estate and Warndon Business Park are highly successful industrial/distribution locations, home to occupiers such as Parcelforce Worldwide, Aeromet International, Kinetic Engineering, Yamazaki Mazak, Bosch Thermotechnology, Royal Mail and Ceva Logistics."

According to the application, the area consists of unused farmland with multiple water courses running through and around it.

Overhead power cables follow the path of the canal along its southern boundary.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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