Company with links to China wants to build new storage building on Sutton site

Reliable UK Trading Co Ltd is a wholesale and distribution company that specialises in high-quality underfloor heating systems and plumbing products.

Goods, products, materials and components, such as radiator parts, tools, parts for lighting fixtures and solar energy equipment, are sourced and imported from a manufacturing factory in China.

Established in 2013, Reliable UK Trading says it “offers all the benefits of an import and export company”, dealing with matters such as logistics and translation, and promises “reassurances of quality”.

Instead of customers sourcing directly from China, it acts as the ‘middle man’ and provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for trade deals, offering “British levels of customer service”. The Chinese arm of the business has a long history of co-operation with well-known giants such as Philips.

Reliable UK Trading is based at the Lowmoor Business Park at Prospect Close in Kirkby, where it has a warehouse, and also advertises an address at Moorgreen Industrial Park in Newthorpe. According to LinkedIn, it has about ten employees.

The company has now submitted a planning application to Ashfield District Council for a new, ancillary storage building to go alongside an existing one, spanning 2,980 square metres, at Unit 3 on Fulwood Rise in Sutton.

The application has been made by Martin Hawksworth, who is the firm’s sales and development manager, and a design statement has been pieced together by the Alfreton-based company, ABDS (Architectural Building Design Services) Ltd.

The square site, which measures 11,500 square metres in total, sits at the end of Fulwood Rise and forms part of the Fulwood Industrial Estate, which is accessed directly from Common Road, close to the A38 junction. It also contains a generously-sized goods yard and a car park for 47 vehicles.

Reliable UK Trading wants to construct the new, stand-alone building on part of the car park, saying it needs only 15 spaces for staff and visitors. But no parking slots would be lost because they would be transferred to the east side of the goods yard.

The statement says: “The development’s objective is to create additional floor space to store a surplus of the business’s products. The proposed building is not to be leased out or sold as an independent building.

"The character of the area is industrial. There are no protected species or wildlife habitats, and the site is not contaminated. There would be no loss of ‘green’ landscaping, therefore no adverse impact on biodiversity.

"It would be impossible to see the building from Common Road and from the nearby residential area. There would no adverse impact on neighbouring properties in terms of loss of light, overlooking, noise, fumes or traffic generation etc.”

The planning application states that the proposal would help to create three full-time jobs and two part-time roles.

The council’s planning officers are currently considering the scheme and aim to make a decision or recommendation by their deadline date of Tuesday, December 30.

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/