Plans for three large industrial storage units at an employment park have been given the go ahead.

Kite International Investments Ltd applied to build the units close to a series of existing industrial and employment buildings, which form part of the wider Hindley Green Business Park, Leigh Road.

Wigan council’s planning committee heard the buildings, which will be used for storage and distribution, would have a ‘L’ shaped formation creating 8,600 square metres of internal floorspace near the current Electrium sales building.

The applicant said the plans would mean a £8m investment in the business park. The building would have a maximum height of approximately 11.8 metres and have a uniform appearance consisting of a mixture of dark and light grey cladding.

A total of 339 car parking spaces were included in the plans, comprising 243 existing ones for the wider employment park and 86 additional spaces. They include 18 EV spaces and 19 disabled spaces.

There were 23 objections to the application from neighbouring properties. The grounds for objection included that the plans were ‘inappropriate in a residential area’, that there was ‘no recognition of proximity to residential properties’ and the ‘impact on neighbouring and visual amenity’.

The application site is currently allocated by the council as employment land within the boundaries of an existing industrial park.

The site is currently used by a plant haulage and hire business for storage and maintenance of associated equipment. The whole of the site is covered in hard standing and there is a steel framed shed used as a workshop and maintenance area.

The committee heard that the boundary of the site was at least 85 metres from nearby homes on Nixon Philips Drive and Bromilow Close. Coun John Harding, said: “We heard some lengthy objections at the last meeting at that led to the decision to undertake a site visit. The planning committee considers each application on its own merits.

“During the visit to the site, at no time could I see the residents’ houses through the around the circumference of the area. I think that if this is agreed the new building will be less intrusive than the current building facing Bromilow Close. I don’t see that the proposal negatively impacts the surrounding area any more than is currently the case.”

The planning committee unanimously approved the plans.