Telford toilet roll maker denied permission to extend factory due to 'insufficient and inaccurate' plans for trees and bats

Telford firm Northwood Hygiene Products had applied for permission in November 2024 to extend offices at its Stafford Park 10 base, along with enlarging warehouses at the site.

In documents submitted with the application, the company said the move would have supported an expansion of activities at the site which was set to create between 30-40 jobs.

Under the plans, side extensions to the east and west of the existing building were proposed to provide additional storage for materials, along with an extension to the south of the building to provide additional office accommodation for staff.

An earlier planning application for a virtually identical development at the site was approved in 2019, but had expired before works could commence.

However, the new scheme was refused after objections from Telford & Wrekin Council's ecology officers, who said not enough information had been provided about a number of trees which would have been removed at the site, and the effect it would have on roosting bat populations.

"The Northwood Hygiene Facility in Telford is used as the base of operations for the company along with the storage and distribution for it's hygiene products," said a planning statement submitted with the scheme. 

"Investment in larger, automated lines is planned, increased storage is needed and an expansion of the existing offices and ancillary provision is required. As a result of the expanding business, an additional 30 – 40 employees will be required at the Telford branch. As part of the company's ongoing expansion, their facility in Telford will require additional floor space to accommodate their growing operational activities and business demands."

Part of the proposals involved the removal of two trees said by ecologists to be of "high strategic significance", alongside a group of trees and the partial removal of two further groups of trees.

Plans were amended following a recommendation from the council's ecologists in January, however officers said that while the number of trees which needed to be felled had been reduced, the plans had missed off a number of trees which would need to be removed to build the extended warehouses, and no assessment had been done on the potential for roosting bats at the site - meaning the development could fall foul of species protection regulations.

"The omission of these trees within the Arboricultural Impact Assessment and a Preliminary Bat Roost Assessment has resulted in the Local Planning Authority being unable to undertake a full assessment of the loss of these trees and impact to protected species," said the planning report. 

"As such, it is considered that insufficient and inaccurate information has been submitted in respect of trees and the impact that the proposal will have on them.

"In the absence of this additional information, it is not possible to conclude that the proposal will not cause an offence under The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and Environment Act 2021.

"The Local Planning Authority consider that insufficient and inaccurate information has been provided to identify the Biodiversity Net Gain(BNG) baseline value of the site, noting a number of inaccuracies and discrepancies between the submitted documentation."

Permission for the development was refused on February 26.