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Jobs joy as firm plans £5m Buxton expansion
A HIGH Peak employer is defying the economic doom and gloom by planning to invest £5 million into its Buxton-based cheese distribution business – a move which looks set to create 55 new jobs.
And the major expansion of Messrs Bradbury & Son moved a step closer this week when High Peak Borough Council approved an application to extend its premises at Staden Lane Business Park.
Bradburys, a family-run firm which supplies major UK retailers and wholesalers, was granted planning permission to construct a new extension, linking it with the neighbouring Shipleys industrial building which it already owns.
The development will enable the company to provide an enlarged chill store, additional loading bays and storage area to the ground floor, plus a new kitchen and staff canteen, changing rooms, toilet facilities and four offices on the first floor.
Members of the council's Development Control Committee on Monday heard how Bradburys hoped to increase its workforce from 45 to 100, and that building work, combined with improvements in technology and operating systems, would cost in the region of 5 million.
The company is celebrating 125 years in existence, and Managing Director George Paul told councillors: "We are investing in not just a building, but in our own local people and this town's rural heritage.
"There were opportunities for us to move, but we stayed here in our spiritual home.
"As you can see from the design (which includes a glazed entrance to the southern elevation), we are obviously very proud of our building. It is a fantastic building, supporting local people and local jobs."
Welcoming the development, Burbage Ward councillor John Faulkner said: "The company is a long-standing employer in Buxton, and wants to invest in its future, particularly during a difficult time with the recession and rather against the trend of economic activity."
And Cllr Michael Harrison commented: "I am really pleased that a local company has the confidence to expand and invest in its building and jobs. If it is like the previous extension, it will be to a high quality design, high quality presentation, and I think it is a credit to everyone who has been associated with it."
But while welcoming the expansion, Cllr Chris Webster was the sole voice against the scheme, claiming off-road parking for heavy goods vehicles was inadequate.
Following the meeting, however, Mr Paul dismissed this claim, adding: "We have provided two rest rooms with toilet and wash facilities. We like our visiting drivers to be treated just as well as they are elsewhere."
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Weather for Buxton
Saturday 04 February 2012
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