Extension at Kirkby factory would create jobs – all the latest Ashfield plans

Robinson Plastic Packaging Ltd, based close to the junction of Low Moor Road, Byron Avenue and Maun Avenue, is a leading provider of innovative custom-moulded plastic packaging and one of the town’s biggest employers.

Part of the international Robinson plc group, it manufactures and stores plastic products, such as jars, pots, tubs, containers and bottles. And its customers include some of the largest retail names in the UK.

Now the firm is looking to extend its Kirkby factory and create a new warehouse, so it has submitted a planning application to Ashfield District Council.

If given the go-ahead, the scheme will create 25 full-time jobs, taking the number of employers at the 7,380 square metre site to 160.

A planning statement explains that the warehouse is needed because of an acute lack of floorspace at the factory for storage. At present, products are having to be stored outside in the yard area.

The statement says: “All our UK manufacturing floorspace is utilised, so further growth cannot be achieved without re-locating to a larger factory or by the preferred option of expanding the existing facility at Kirkby.

"The company has an expected growth of £4.5 million by 2030, thereby increasing jobs and protecting the future of Robinson’s UK plastics business.

"To support this growth, the proposed expansion at Kirkby would incorporate additional warehousing to reduce the reliance on outside storage.”

Because the factory is not close to residential properties, the expansion would not have an impact on any homes in Kirkby, says the statement.

The new warehouse would be ten metres high and accommodate 4,000 pallet spaces. Without it, outside storage would increase to an estimated 100,000 pallets each year, meaning more HGV journeys to transport them.

Robinson points out that the creation of the storage warehouse would cut by 50,000 miles per year the number of HGV journeys the firm needed to make, thus reducing its carbon footprint.

The council’s planning officers are currently considering the scheme and have set a deadline of Tuesday, October 6 for make a decision or recommendation.

Other planning applications received by Ashfield Council include these:

1 Haddon Street, Sutton – replacement of front boundary fence and gate.

112 Mansfield Road, Underwood – single-storey, detached residential annexe.

195 Alfreton Road, Underwood – single-storey rear extension with raised patio and fence.

131 Wild Hill, Teversal – detached car port at front.

Jasper Lodge, Wheatley Avenue, Kirkby – single-storey and two-storey extensions at side, rear and front, including four dormers.

33 Banks Avenue, Kirkby – single-storey rear extension.

39 Chapel Street, Kirkby – removal of sycamore tree and holly tree within conservation area.

1A Beck Lane, Sutton – detached garage.

Byron House, 4 Willow Drive, Annesley – application to determine if prior approval is required for installation of roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels.

1 Summerfield Road, Kirkby – single-storey extensions at rear and front.

12 Dobsons Mews, Sutton – listed building consent for replacement window and patio doors at rear.

29 Highfield Avenue, Kirkby – two-storey side extension.

68 Welbeck Street, Kirkby – single-storey rear extension.

THE details of many planning applications can be found in public notices advertised by local and regional newspapers. To catch up on all the latest public notices, go to https://publicnoticeportal.uk/