Business’s plans to expand central site

A KEY Nailsea business has applied for permission to build an industrial test facility and four-storey office building at its premises in High Street.

GE Oil and Gas wants to extend its facilities to improve working conditions for staff, but the proposal will mean a loss of around 50 car parking spaces.

The plans have led to mixed reactions from people in Nailsea and Wraxall who are keen to support the firm but are also concerned about the effect it could have on nearby streets.

The business was given permission to build an additional car park on greenbelt land in 2013 in a bid to ease congestion in nearby roads such as Lodge Lane.

Many employees had been parking in residential streets due to a shortage of spaces at the site.

Nailsea Town Council’s planning and environmental committee voted in favour of the business’s expansion plans at a meeting on February 25.

Town council clerk Ian Morrell said: “The committee recommended approval because it felt that the benefit from investment in the town and securing some of the jobs outweighed the loss of parking.

“They’ve got fewer staff working on the site now than when they first expanded and they have proposals for car sharing.”

The GE Oil and Gas site is used for the research, design and fabrication of deep sea oil and gas exploration and extraction machinery and the business is a huge asset to Nailsea, providing scores of jobs and boosting the economy.

The firm’s application states: “The proposed building is not intended to provide additional office space for GE to expand their employment levels, rather space to provide better levels of office/mixed use space for GE staff including senior management and for the onsite external consultants.”

Anyone interested in commenting on the proposals can do so at www.n-somerset.gov.uk before March 18.

It will be discussed at Wraxall and Failand Parish Council meeting on March 10 in the Cross Tree Centre, Wraxall Hill, at 7.30pm.