Commercial vehicle and employment development plans lodged

Plans have been lodged for a mixed-use development in North Yorkshire comprising commercial vehicle sales and maintenance facilities and employment units.Hartshorne Crossroads Properties Ltd (HCPL) has submitted an application to North Yorkshire Council for development on 7.4 acres of land at Boroughbridge Industrial Estate in Roecliffe.The applicant provides full parts and service facilities for Volvo Truck & Bus, as well as new and used sales. If approval is granted, the company would relocate from its site off Becklands Close.The hybrid application seeks full planning permission for the construction of a 15,607 sq ft Volvo Trucks facility.The new facility would include a workshop area for the servicing and repair of heavy goods vehicles, buses, refuse trucks and emergency vehicles, as well as reception, offices, parts storage and welfare facilities.A total of 42 parking spaces would be provided for staff and visitors.Outline approval is also sought for a development of up to seven units suitable for industrial and storage and distribution uses (classes f E(g)/B2/B8) measuring a total of 36,000 sq ft.The new commercial vehicle facility would employ 25 staff, while its has been estimated that the employment scheme would support about 70 roles.The first phase of the project will represent a £3.5m investment, while the second phase will be circa £5m (construction value including the employment terrace).A planning statement submitted as part of the application said: “The proposal will retain an existing business (the applicant) in Boroughbridge in a recognised employment allocation and ensure that this brownfield site is reused into a positive employment development. The outline element of the proposal will bring a new employment hub to the wider Roecliffe/Boroughbridge area, very well connected to the strategic highway network.”The proposal will allow the applicant to positively respond to the applicant’s commitment to delivering on its carbon reduction/climate change goals linked to the wider objectives of the UK Government’s of decarbonising the road network and vehicles that use it.”The new facilities will allow the applicant to transition its workshops and service provision to better service future hydrogen and electric derived vehicles and move away from fossil fuel derivative vehicles in the next ten years.”The project team includes Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), Jefferson Sheard Architects (JSA), Mode, Tetra Tech, Collington Winter Environment, and Eastwood and Partners.