AN automated warehouse could be built near Elton as a major Cheshire employer eyes future growth.

Cheshire West and Chester’s planning committee is recommended to approve an application by Encirc for a new facility at its existing site on Ash Road. With three sites across England, Northern Ireland and Italy, the company manufactures and fills glass containers and the move would be part of a long term expansion plan.

The firm opened its existing site in Elton in 2005 and employs more than 900 staff and a further 130 full time contractors. It now wants to build a new 61,000 sq m automated warehouse at Elton which would be connected by a monorail to its existing plant.

According to the plans, the automated warehouse would be approximately 300m long and 107m wide in order to accommodate 16 crane automated stacking aisles. The main automated warehouse would have a parapet height of 44m to accommodate the maximum length of the cranes, which have a maximum operational height of 40m.

A report to the planning committee said the height of the design reflected the  operational needs of Encirc to accommodate an additional 200,000 pallet spaces at its facility.

An HGV marshalling yard is also planned comprising 117 trailer spaces, as well as parking for 140 cars. This would include seven accessible spaces and 14 electric vehicle parking spaces.

Recommending approval, the report to the committee – which is due to meet next Tuesday – said the application site was previously developed brownfield land, which was allocated to meet the strategic requirement for new employment development.

It added: “The proposed development is considered to meet the aims of policy and represents a significant investment in the borough, which will contribute to sustaining and enhancing the operation of the Encirc facility and delivering additional employment.

“These are factors that weigh significantly in favour of the proposal.”