Planning application unanimously approved for new £6million tyre warehouse facility in Northern Ireland creating 50 new jobs

A wholesale tyre business in Antrim is set to expand after planning permission was approved for a new £6m warehouse.

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved a proposal for a storage distribution facility at Tyre Call in Kilbegs Industrial Estate at a meeting on Monday evening.

The proposal will include office accommodation and parking provision.

Barry Diamond, the council’s head of planning, told the committee that the planned new building would be 8,000 square metres with views obscured from existing buildings. There were no letters of objection.

He reported that the development would result in the creation of 30 new jobs, doubling the workforce to 60. It is estimated that the proposal will generate 20 construction jobs.

Tyre Call Limited is a wholesale company with outlets in Antrim and at Dublin Road, Cavan in the Republic of Ireland.

“The proposal is considered an appropriate land use for the area. The design is acceptable in the context of surrounding buildings,” Mr Diamond said.

Threemilewater DUP councillor Alderman Stephen Ross asked about plans for a temporary waste water treatment plant on-site. NI Water has raised concerns over network and waste water treatment works capacity.

He was advised that the applicant is willing to provide a treatment facility which would be removed if the proposed site can be connected to the sewerage system.

A report to the committee says: “The applicant indicates that their existing facility at 12 Kilbegs Road is at maximum capacity for both storage and overall operations as its business headquarters.

“The applicant further states that with the advent of electric vehicles to the Northern Ireland market, the tyre stock profile required to service this increasingly diverse car market is expanding rapidly, requiring unique tyre sizes and construction attributes to satisfy the weight and range requirements of electric vehicles

“Additionally, the company has increased their agricultural and construction tyre business substantially in the last few years.

“As a response to continuously evolving customer and industry changes, the company has diversified and expanded the product range and services offered both locally and internationally.”

The application was approved unanimously.