One of Rossendale’s largest employers has submitted a planning application to expand the business. Melba Swintex has put forward the proposal to Rossendale Borough Council which seeks permission to erect a satellite warehouse to serve its existing Stubbins factory.
The application is proposing a 4,363 sqm storage and distribution building, service yard and car and HGV parking spaces, served by a widened access from Blackburn Road. The application also proposes the construction of a realigned and repositioned public footpath alongside the River Irwell.
Melba Swintex manufactures a range of temporary traffic management products, such as pedestrian barriers, traffic cones and signs, which it supplies throughout Europe and beyond. The company’s headquarters is based at Stubbins Vale Mill in Ramsbottom, but the company urgently require expansion land if it is to continue to service its current contracts efficiently and expand the business to keep pace with demand for its goods and services.
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It has acquired the four hectare site known as ‘Mayfield Chicks’, which was once occupied by a chicken hatchery until it was destroyed by fire in 2002. The proposed warehouse has been designed to meet the precise operational business requirements of Melba Swintex, and will be used for storage-related purposes, with manufactured products transported from the company’s Stubbins HQ to be assembled, packaged and prepared for dispatch to customers.
Melba Swintex’s Purchasing Director, Shaun Todd, explained: “These are very exciting times for Melba Swintex. Business is booming, with scope to grow and create more jobs, but our current headquarters at Stubbins is jam-packed and at full capacity, with limited scope to expand.
(Image: Melba Swintex)
“We have looked long and hard for a suitable satellite site, and are delighted to have purchased this land at Ewood Bridge. Not only is it the perfect size, but it is suitably close to Stubbins, meaning that it will work logistically and efficiently to grow and expand the business.
“We are also delighted that the site is in Rossendale, which is where we want to be. We hope that this development will provide a positive and powerful boost to the “Invest in Rossendale” brand, which we are very proud to be part of.”
The planning application has been the subject of ongoing pre-application discussions with Rossendale Council and other parties.
It has been coordinated by Melba Swintex’s planning consultant, Richard Gee of Roman Summer Associates Ltd.
(Image: Melba Swintex)
Richard said: “This proposal is a good news story on a number of counts. Not only will it serve the business needs of an important local company, but it will unlock the first of Rossendale’s strategic employment allocations. We have spent over nine months formulating this application and prepared a raft of information to support it, including no fewer than 11 ecology reports.
“Rossendale Council’s Planning and Economic Development teams have worked proactively and positively with us, and that has helped to shape the scheme into something I think Rossendale will be proud of. Not only will we be delivering a new warehouse, but Melba Swintex will also be constructing a new, better quality public footpath along the River Irwell; planting around 100 new trees and other vegetation on the site; and providing over 2,000 new trees and other biodiversity improvements off the site.”
The proposed warehouse has been designed by Bury-based RGP Architects to reflect its rural fringe location, with regard to both close and long range views and vistas.
RGP’s Director, Andrew Mitchell, said: “While it is not possible to design a large modern warehouse without causing change, we have set out to design it to respect its context. At 9.0 metres, its height looks to minimise visual intrusion, particularly when it is viewed from the nearby Irwell Sculpture Trail and adjacent public rights of way.
“The building’s external appearance inevitably reflects its warehouse use, but is to be clad in neutral-toned, insulated metal panels, with a green camouflage effect to help break up its massing. This is intended to create the impression of two smaller buildings on either side, allowing its central section to blend into the background, in turn reducing its visual impact.
“To further integrate the building with the historical context of the area, we have employed a natural stone base to not only respect local heritage but also to anchors the modern structure within its setting.”
(Image: Melba Swintex)
Gregg Dawson, Melba Swintex’s owner and managing director, added: “We are raring to go. We obviously need to await the outcome of the planning process and hope that it will go smoothly. But if we obtain planning permission, we will not be resting on our laurels.
“We are already holding conversations with contractors and have the funds in place to deliver this quickly. I very much hope that this development will be seen in a positive light and a symbol of Rossendale’s economic buoyancy and potential.”
It is expected that the planning application will be determined by spring 2025, and Melba Swintex is looking to start construction by summer 2025, with completion expected in early 2026.
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