Jobs joy as £23m site approved

News that a major distribution centre creating hundreds of jobs in Rugeley is going ahead has been hailed a "big boost" for the town.

More than 700 local people are set to be employed to work at the warehouse which will be built at the Towers Business Park in Brereton.

Members of Cannock Chase Council's planning committee have voted to approve the £23 million development. Planning officers had recommended approval but residents had sent in more than 70 letters of objection.

Gazeley, the company behind the huge 68,000 sq ft facility, says it plans to recruit the majority of employees locally as well as the construction team.

The warehouse is part of Gazeley's G-Park development, a 40-acre brownfield site which forms part of the 100-acre Towers Business Park.

Gazeley admits it has not yet identified a logistics company to take over the site but says it is 85 per cent certain there will be takers.

Residents have complained that the site – which is set operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week – will have an unacceptable level of noise and light.

But company chiefs have vowed to make alterations including limitations on the vehicle usage and also the installation of an acoustic fence to try and lessen the impact on homeowners.

Councillor Ray Easton, who represents Brereton and Ravenhill, said: "I am in agreement with the application but it is not what I wanted to be on that site.

"We have had to put up with a pit and a power station on our doorstep for forty years and this again is going to be big, noisy and too close to homes. It's difficult for me to say I totally support it but we do really need employment in the town."

Don Morgan, planning and development director, for Gazeley, told councillors: "We have already invested £1.5 million on an access road and the centre will cost £23 million to build.

"It's a great vote of confidence for Rugeley."

He said between 600 and 700 new jobs would be created and that a local employment co-ordinator was being taken on to ensure local people are employed.

Councillor Chris Collis, ward member for Heath Hayes East and Wimblebury, said the job creation would be a big boost for the town.

By Jo Mason