Express & Star

Jobs created as car park to be transformed by vehicle sales firm

A disused car park in Moxley will be used for displaying commercial vehicles for sale, under plans poised to create almost a dozen jobs.

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Tipton-based C&W Commercials, which sells lorries and specialist vehicles such as ready-mixed concrete lorries, plans to use the land at the corner of Bull Lane and Western Way as its new base.

The site was used as the staff car park for the former Wessons Foundry on the opposite side of Bull Lane which has been demolished.

A small sales office will also be based on the site, under the plans which are expected to create 11 jobs.

It includes six full-time roles and five part-time jobs mainly for delivery drivers.

There were 120 spaces when the site was previously used as a staff car park.

A planning application lodged with Walsall Council states that the foundry closed in 2009 land has been unused for several years.

The site has suffered from fly-tipping, metal theft and the growth of weeds and self-set saplings.

A report, lodged with the planning application, states: "Unfortunately years of neglect have left this area in a poor and overgrown condition.

"Since any landscaping for future redevelopment on the foundry site will be provided within that site, it is now inappropriate to leave unused such a large part of land and the submitted plans put part into beneficial use for the applicant's business.

"The remainder will be landscaped, as shown and will be easier for the owners to maintain."

According to the plans, the majority of sales would be done over the internet or telephone and it is thought there would be no more than five visitors per working day.

It says that the vehicles would be tidily parked ready to demonstrate or test drive.

No vehicle repairs or dismantling will be carried out, according to the plans.

Rubbish and debris would be removed from the site and security lighting columns would be reinstated after the existing ones were cut off by thieves.

The report added: "Because most of the commercial vehicles will simply remain stored on site until sold, and employee numbers (around 11 in total) are much smaller than during Wesson's ownership, traffic generation will be significantly less than under the previous use.

"Only some 20 to 25 vehicle movements per day will occur, compared with potentially 250 plus in the site's previous use.

"Such numbers are not regarded as significant so there would appear to be no requirement for a transport statement or a travel plan."

A decision on the proposals is due to be made by planning chiefs in the upcoming months.

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