Stafford blaze-hit firm to rise from ashes
A fire-ravaged storage firm wrecked after a blaze at a neighbouring industrial cleaning company has submitted plans to rebuild.
Drummond Business, also known as Goodwins Removals Stafford, has unveiled proposals for a 940 sq metre storage and distribution unit at Astonfields Industrial Estate.
It would save the 15 jobs that were there prior to the blaze at Global Hygiene earlier this year.
Goodwins was one of several firms hit by the fireballs which engulfed the premises on March 2 when 40,000 litres of oil somehow ignited.
The storage firm, which specialises in house moving services, has remained tight-lipped on the extent of the damage to its own premises and the resulting impact on its customers. But pictures taken in the wake of the fire showed their unit had been severely damaged with the walls and roof charred and burnt out.
The planning documents, submitted to Stafford Borough Council, provide little detail at this stage but do confirm the bid is to replace the property hit by the fire. The application outlines the proposal is for a 'New B8 storage and distribution unit and offices to replace existing fire damage building.' It also confirms the warehouse will accommodate the 15 'existing' full-time employees.
Goodwins has been going since 1935 but Robert Goodwin, son of the company's founder, retired last year, which prompted the company to be sold on. It was acquired by John Bradshaw & Son, the parent firm of Britannia Bradshaw International Removals and Storage of Manchester and Birmingham and BCL Office Moving.
The move saw all of the workers based at Stafford retained while the business is now called Britannia Goodwins. Meanwhile the investigation into how the fire started at Global Hygiene is still ongoing.
Earlier this month the Environment Agency said tests to determine the full extent of the ground contamination caused were imminent. In the immediate aftermath of the blaze oil had seeped in to the main rivers including the Sow causing pollution to wildlife. Seven months on and booms – floating barriers – are still in place on the surrounding waterways to stop any oil still leaking from the site spreading further.
No one from Goodwins was available for comment. Visit expressandstar.com to see pictures of Goodwins in the wake of the fire.
