Council set to approve new 300,000 sq ft Jaguar Land Rover logistics centre
Vehicle manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover is set to get planning permission for further expansion at its factory in Solihull.
The company is planning to develop a 300,000 sq ft (91,800 sqm) logistics facility and car park on land close to its Lode Lane site.
The new Logistics Operations Centre (LOC), planned for land adjacent to and including Damson Parkway, will create more than 1,600 new jobs at the firm and improve the supply of components to the main Land Rover production operation.
In total, the new centre will support a workforce of 2,450 employees, of which 1,634 will be new employees. The remaining 816 staff will relocate from the Lode Lane site.
Solihull Borough Council’s planning committee will consider then proposals at a meeting this evening (Wednesday).
The scheme has been recommended for approval despite objections that the site lies within the greenbelt.
The council said despite the site’s location there were exceptional circumstances to justify approval.
The Draft Local Plan states: “Jaguar Land Rover is a major international business and one of the largest employers in the West Midlands, whose continued growth and success are of vital importance to the local and regional economy, and to the aspirations in the UK Central Masterplan.
“Failure to provide for future growth and expansion would put the company at a competitive disadvantage with its motor manufacturing rivals and jeopardise the significant potential for new employment.”
It said the Lode Lane site was severely constrained by surrounding residential areas, Elmdon Park and local nature reserves, and the only realistic option for expansion and redevelopment was for the greenbelt land.
“There is no suitable alternative that meets the company’s need for contiguous growth to consolidate a single comprehensive site,” adds the document.
To enable the LOC to be delivered on one parcel of land it is proposed to divert the existing route of Damson Parkway. The new highway would be provided on land within the application site and would realigned to the eastern boundary of the site and become a dual carriageway.
Should the application be approved, it will be accompanied by a comprehensive Section 106 agreement that will secure the following:
• £150,000 towards highway works to improve
• £544,288 towards landscaping; and
• £753,419 to ensure restoration of grassland
JLR said it required the LOC to “improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its existing logistics network”, support the Solihull manufacturing plant and maintain global competitiveness.
Since 2011 JLR has invested more than £2bn into the Lode Lane plant, during which time the number of employees has doubled to over 10,700 and the number of vehicles that it manufactures has trebled.
