Toilet and kitchen roll firm in Wolverhampton set for £30m expansion
A family company in Wolverhampton that manufactures kitchen and toilet roll is to increase business with a £30 million plan to extend its existing premises and build an additional warehouse on site.
Task Consumer Products on Stafford Road, Fordhouses, has applied for permission to build an extra works base on adjacent land formerly occupied by automotive manufacturer Fablink. Planners are due to approve the proposals next Tuesday.
The company currently has 128 full-time employees, with an extra 50 full-time jobs expected to be created under the plans. However, the development will mean the loss of part of a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (SLINC).
Established in 2007, Task is one of the largest independent paper converters in the UK with a manufacturing capacity in excess of 100,000 tonnes per annum. The application has been made by Sherborne Paper Ltd and Stoford Properties Ltd.
A statement submitted alongside the proposals, said: “The majority of the application site is currently occupied by the existing production facility for Task Consumer Products. This building acts as the cornerstone around which these proposals have been arranged and developed.
“The plans for the site will incorporate a design ethos that compliments the surroundings and the existing building, incorporating a high-quality architectural solution that respects the wider typologies and sets the precedent for future development.
“This projects acts a direct expansion of an existing facility and, as a result, the relationship to the first building is of particular importance in respect of both aesthetics and function.
“The new building is at the forefront of the site and acts as the first introduction to the Task facility. Arranged in a linear format and aligned to adjacent buildings, the gable end of the unit directly addresses Stafford Road and is the most prominent elevation of the development.
“We are working with manufacturers Task to bring forward proposals for their site, which includes redeveloping land adjacent to their current facility – formerly occupied by a warehouse owned by Fablink,” added the statement.
Planning bosses have been recommended to approve the proposals subject to a compensatory payment of £200,000 for the loss of part of the SLINC, to be spent on improvements to Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve.
