Green light expected for job-creating warehouse

As previously reported, Arbucc (Drum) proposes to construct a 123,914 square foot warehouse on 10-acres of land at Panther Court, the last remaining site to be developed on the estate.

Drum Industrial Estate, in Chester-le-Street, accommodates a variety of employment uses including large warehouses operated by occupiers including the Co-op, Parcelforce, and Purmo.

The scheme is being brought forward in conjunction with Bidfood, which operates a network of 24 sites across the UK and supplies more than 10,000 products to 45,000 caterers and food service businesses.

The proposed development will replace an existing Bidfood depot in Gateshead, which currently employs more than 190 staff and has reached the limit of its operational capacity.

If the plans go ahead, the project will allow the group to expand, leading to a 25 per cent growth in employment numbers on site within five years.

A planning statement submitted with the proposal said: “This scale of current and future employment numbers will also bring positive new indirect, or induced, impacts to the local economy, with new expenditure captured by existing businesses in the local area from those employees.”

Included in the scheme, which would be served by a new 7.3m wide road, are 198 parking spaces and 50 cycle spaces.