A leading commercial vehicle distributor is expected to get the go-ahead tomorrow to spend £6 million on reconfiguring its truck facility in Chesterton.
Hartshorne Crossroads Properties Limited (HCPL) has applied for planning permission to demolish its existing workshop and an industrial building on its Parkhouse Industrial Estate site.
A new workshop and office would be built and its existing MOT facilities refurbished.
The scheme, which has been recommended for approval at a meeting of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s planning committee, would create 10 to 12 jobs, taking the total number of people staff there to 40.
HCPL provides affiliated motor services and truck sales to the wider Volvo Group in the UK and has been based at the site for more than four decades.
But it says its existing facilities are ‘insufficient to meet current requirements’ and adds the application is about ‘future proofing the quality of Volvo trucks servicing experience’.
A statement submitted along with the planning application reads: “The applicant has occupied the site for over 40 years and has operated a successful truck and bus serviced and maintenance site, providing MOT preparation and on-site testing.
“This is a key location for their wider business network and customer base. However, their current national infrastructure of accommodation is insufficient to meet current requirements and will certainly not meet future business needs and the future direction of HCPL trucks and other vehicle/fleet providers.
“The group is investing in new infrastructure that is in part due to HCPL and Volvo’s transition to hydrogen and electric powered truck and buses in the long term, whilst also still being able to service traditional combustion and hybrid vehicles during the transition period away from traditional fossil fuel derivative vehicles.”
A report to councillors describes the proposed development as representing ‘a good quality design’ and states: “All technical issues have been addressed within this application or are covered by conditions.”
If the plans are passed, the new buildings will be erected to allow the site to retain continuity in service during the construction phase.
The MOT facility will be relocated to the east of the site, currently accommodating Advanced Packaging Solutions which Hartshorne acquired earlier this year.
