Volvo giant submits plans to upgrade £3m Walsall head office
One of the region's biggest commercial vehicle distributors has lodged plans for a new head office in the Black Country.
Hartshorne Group says is bidding to expand its 13,700 sq m site at Bentley Mill Close, Walsall, to include new vehicle workshops and offices.
The firm has been running for more than five decades and is considered a leading commercial vehicle distributors for the West Midlands, East Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire.
The Walsall site, which opened in 2018 after £3 million investment, provides parts and service facilities for Volvo trucks and buses as well as new and used sales.
A statement accompanying plans, submitted to Walsall Council, says the existing site no longer meets "the current demands for a modern workshop facility which is to provide wider drive through servicing bays and increased headroom for effective and safe vehicle servicing".
Bosses say the revamped facility will enable the firm to "expand as a business" and improve efficiency. It is proposed to develop the site "in stages" to allow it to remain open while construction takes place.
Under the plans, a new workshop will be built for the servicing and repair of buses, HGVs, refuse trucks and emergency vehicles. There will also be a new reception, offices and parts storage facilities, as well as a new body shop.
There will be a new truck sales area and a 46-space car park, according to the plans.
The statement concludes that the development would serve as "a much needed modernisation" of the existing facility which would "re-utilise a brownfield site within a predominantly industrial area".
"The design of the building has been developed with due regard to the relevant planning policies of Walsall Metropolitan Council promoting high quality and efficient design to ensure successful future operations for a key service providing essential vehicle repair and restoration services to the area," it adds.
