KEYNSHAM company IJ McGill Transport is seeking to extend a warehouse at its base in Avon Mill Lane.
The firm has depots in Devon, Buckinghamshire, Midlands and Manchester but runs its UK-wide transport company from Keynsham.
The former Keynsham Paper Mill site was used for 20 years by DS Smith as a paper recycling depot until IJ McGill took over in 2019.
The company has now submitted a planning application to Bath and North East Somerset Council to extend a warehouse it built in 2022 and demolish some other buildings to improve the layout of the site.
Its planning statement says: “Since Covid and with the impact of Brexit and the war in Ukraine, together with other global issues that are affecting supply routes to the UK and beyond, UK companies are making greater use of storage to ensure that they have a good supply of stock for their customers.
“This has seen a growth in the warehouse storage business for IJMcGill Transport Ltd with the new warehouse that was built in 2022 is now full to capacity.”
Goods for storage arrive on site in shipping containers for unloading and transfer into the warehouse.
The firm says the extra capacity it proposes would help alleviate local councillors’ concern about the loss of warehousing in the Keynsham area.
An “extensive appraisal” of the site has been undertaken to establish the best location for the extra warehouse space.
“It is understood that a proposal for a new link road to the north of the site is back under consideration, although no details of the proposed route are currently available. This is one of the major constraints that need to be considered when developing the site.
“As the actual position of the link road has yet to be determined, it was clear that to avoid delay any further expansion needed to be made to the southern section of the site and in that respect an extension to the 2022 warehouse would be the best option, even though this will require the demolition of part of the old paper mill that is currently used for warehousing and offices.”
It is envisaged that the warehouse extension would increase the workforce by 10. It is currently 116.
Three people who commented on the planning application raised concerns about noise and traffic.
One said expanding the premises would result in more large vehicles using roads not designed for them.
Another said people living south of the nearby railway line were already affected by the beeping of reversing lorries early in the morning and late at night. They suggested that planning control of noise and vehicle movements should be included, particularly between the hours of 11pm and 7am.
The deadline for public comments is July 3. The planning reference on the B&NES Council website is 25/01924/FUL. The council’s target decision date is August 26.
Firm seeks approval for warehouse extension
