Glass plant approval saves 700 jobs
WORKERS at Quinn Glass in Elton can breathe a sigh of relief as it has finally had its planning application retrospectively approved, saving the plant from closure.
Cheshire West and Chester Council Planning Committee has unanimously approved the planning application for the Elton glass plant.
The long-running saga has seen dogged intervention from rival firm Ardagh Glass, High Court rulings and development agency chief executive Stephen Broomhead speak out in favour of Quinn.
Quinn Glass’s factory, the biggest bottling plant in Europe, sits on the former site of the Ince B power station at Elton in Chester. It was completed in 2005 on the basis of planning permission for a smaller facility, which led to objections from Ardargh and in April this year the council served an enforcement notice that could have seen the plant demolished.
Stakes were high as Quinn has invested £325m in the site and forced demolition would have meant the loss of around 700 jobs on site.
Adrian Curry, a director at Quinn Glass, said: “This is good news for Quinn Glass and we’re pleased that the council has resolved to determine our planning application.
“Since the original planning permission was issued in October 2003, this process has been beset by legal challenges from our competitors on procedural grounds; however this determination represents a significant step in drawing a line under the planning saga.
“I appreciate the efforts of all of our team involved in bringing the process to this stage and I’m also hugely grateful for the continued hard work of our 700 strong workforce, and the support we’ve been shown by our customers and the local community – all of whom have contributed to the ongoing success of the operation at Elton.”
The council’s decision means the application will now be passed to the Government Office for the North West, and possibly the secretary of state, to be rubber stamped.
