Neil Boardman Development Control County Borough Council Tredomen Houser Hengoed CF82 7WF 3rd January 2020

Our ref: GES/13383/L0001 Dear Neil

Proposed Storage Extension to Existing Carpet Manufacturing Operation, Abingdon Flooring, Pen-Y-Fan Park, Crumlin, Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Further to the grant of planning permission for a major manufacturing extension and associated car parking at Abingdon Flooring in 2018 and the implementation thereof, we are instructed by Victoria Plc to submit a further planning application for a storage extension at the flooring manufacturing plant.

The planning application submission comprises the following:

. Planning Application Forms duly completed and signed; . Certificate B and Agricultural Holdings Certificate, duly completed and signed; . Site Location Plan (Drawing No 912070/4/Rev A); . Proposed Block Plan and Sections (Drawing No 912070/1/Rev A); . Existing and Proposed Elevations (Drawing No 912070/2/Rev A); . Design and Access Statement prepared by DPP; . Publicity and Consultations Report prepared by DPP (to be completed following the statutory Pre-Application Consultation).

Please note that the requisite planning application fee of £23,940 (cheque number…..), is being submitted under separate cover.

Background

Abingdon’s presence in Crumlin and contribution towards the Caerphilly local economy, dates back to 1972 when the company first started production elsewhere on the Pen-Y-Fan estate. Abingdon has operated from the subject site since 1982, and has expanded the business on three occasions previously, in 1989, 1992 and 2018. The present day Abingdon Flooring was created in 2003 following its acquisition by Victoria Plc, a holding company which also owns other carpet manufacturers. Since 2003, the company has continued to grow, so much so that it is now the largest carpet manufacturer in Britain. Importantly, a major benefit to the local economy of this manufacturing growth has been the creation and safeguarding of some 221 jobs. The business strategy is, however, aimed at generating further growth and central to achieving this growth has been investment in specific stages of the production process, notably the £4 million investment in 2018 in a “finishing line” machine which adds hessian backing to newly produced carpet some 160m in length. With this previously approved extension built and operational, carpet production at the plant is forecast to increase to 20 million m2 per annum by 2020, all of which will be directed towards meeting demand within the UK market. The current extension proposal will, if consented, allow Abingdon Flooring to continue to realise its full economic potential, both in terms of production and safeguarding jobs, to the benefit of the local economy and surrounding communities for many years to come.

In terms of the relevant planning policy context provided by the adopted Caerphilly Local Development Plan, we note that the subject site is an allocated employment land site (Pen-Y-Fan/Croespenmaen Primary Site for Employment Protection) and, as such, the application proposal is entirely compliant with the development plan in this key regard. Also noteworthy is the absence of any site-specific constraints including, for example, ecological and/or flood-related considerations, which might otherwise have affected the development potential of the subject site.

Taking into account the extant industrial use of the application site and the proposal’s potential to deliver further economic benefits, there cannot, in our judgement, be any in principle objection to a Class B8 extension proposal at the subject site, subject to an application submission demonstrating compliance with relevant design considerations.

The Proposal

The proposal, which involves an investment of a further £1 million in the Crumlin site, is for an extension on the west side of the building measuring almost 113m in length and 36m in width, with the link to the existing adjacent building being some 7.3m in width on the east side of the proposed extension. To eaves, the extension is 12.3m in height and in floorspace terms, the extension totals 4712m2 (GEA)/4620m2 (GIA). As indicated above, the extension will provide a new storage only facility, capable of accommodating some 8500 rolls of carpet, which equates to 1 million m2 of floor covering. Importantly, carpets manufactured on-site will be delivered direct to retailers, in sharp contrast to the present situation whereby carpet is delivered firstly to the distribution centres located at Kidderminster and Hemel and then to carpet retailers. The current proposal will therefore “cut-out” these distribution centres and will facilitate quicker, more efficient logistics/deliveries involving a net reduction in overall travel/HGV use.

Importantly, the proposal is aimed at remedying the existing shortfall in on-site storage, providing greater efficiency

in supplying carpets to specific buyers/retailers, whilst also safeguarding existing jobs on-site.

In terms of servicing, the Abingdon operation will continue to be serviced by means of the extensive forecourt adjacent to the west side of the main building, which itself is accessed via the internal estate road which runs east/west off Parkway. With regard to car parking, the proposed storage only area will not generate any additional jobs and, as such, there is no requirement for additional on-site car parking. We find support for this view having regard to the fact that the existing main car park, which was extended by 74 spaces in connection with the previous 2018 extension, is able to provide more than sufficient parking in connection with the existing operation.

In terms of the scale and design of the proposed extension, it is demonstrably consistent with the characteristics of the existing, host, building and the wider surrounding commercial area. Traditional cladding and rain-water goods will match the existing building, both in terms of materials and colour.

Policy Compliance

As noted above, this existing industrial/brownfield site is located within an allocated industrial estate in the adopted development plan and, as such, there cannot be any in principle objection to the proposed development.

With regard to parking-related considerations, all parking associated with the manufacturing use will continue to be accommodated on-site and, importantly, the extension proposal will be used solely for storage purposes and will not therefore generate any additional jobs which might otherwise have some potential consequences in terms of parking requirements. Furthermore, taking into account the scale and nature of the existing operation and the extension proposal, when considered in the context of the local highway network, the application is considered acceptable in highway safety and capacity terms. In summary, the proposed development raises no legitimate concerns in relation to highways matters.

The Planning Balance

Taking into account the proposal’s significant degree of policy compliance, together with the absence of any material harm, the planning balance is, in our judgement, very firmly in favour of the proposed development. This conclusion is reinforced, if due weight is also given to the presumption in favour of sustainable economic development embodied in Planning Policy and the potential of the proposal to make an important contribution towards economic growth and job retention, in line with local and national policy objectives.

We trust you have sufficient information to enable the prompt registration of Abingdon’s proposal to further invest and develop in Caerphilly County Borough Council. Once you have had an opportunity to consider and consult upon the application submission, we would very much welcome the opportunity of further discussing and progressing matters towards a positive outcome and grant of planning permission.

Thank you in anticipation of your continued assistance in relation to this proposed major further investment by Victoria Plc.

Yours sincerely,

GES Gary Sutton Consultant [email protected] 02920 660265 Enc. As above