A new £230 million industrial estate could be built on the outskirts of a village by the M1, creating more than 1,100 jobs, developers have said.
Land next to the M1 and A50 in Sawley has been earmarked for the construction of seven large industrial buildings.
The 127-acre site off Netherfield Lane is currently used by the East Midlands Shooting Club, but Newlands Developments Ltd has applied for permission to build the industrial park.
Members of North West Leicestershire District Council’s planning committee will discuss the scheme next week, Leicestershire Live reports.
Planning officers have recommended they grant permission for the scheme to be approved, despite the site being outside the area earmarked for development in local planning strategies.
Documents submitted to the council by Newlands do not indicate if any companies are yet lined up to move into the complex, which would be next to the recently-built Aldi distribution centre.
However, they do say they expect 1,109 full-time equivalent jobs to be created - on top of nearly 2,000 construction posts over the two years it is anticipated to build the units.
The firm said: “This would provide a significant number of new employment opportunities for residents.”
The company has claimed, when the site is up and running, it will be worth £66 million a year to the local economy while generating £3 million a year of business rates - half of which will go into the district council’s coffers.
There has been just one objection to the scheme lodged with planners and that is largely based around concerns that the development will cause flooding.
However, Lockington cum Hemington Parish Council has raised concerns that the business park would be outside the area the district has designated for development.
The parish council said: “We have continued to object to the building of any additional warehouses around this area and do not believe in the real world there is an urgent need.”
But it says the site has been targeted by fly-tippers, arsonists who burn out caravans and bike scramblers and over the years which would only continue if nothing happens there.
