EXPANSION plans have been put forward by a Wellington business to allow it to manufacture its product on site and recruit more workers.

Hawkings Cladding Ltd wants to add a two-storey extension to the front of its factory bordering the Thomas Fox Road housing estate, in Tonedale.

The rainscreen cladding company, which celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year, has previously worked on projects including the upgrading of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station on The Lizard, in Cornwall, and lists Plymouth Argyle Football Club’s new training and development centre among its upcoming clients.

Planning agent Simon Helm, of BRO Architecture, Taunton, said: “My client wishes to extend his factory to expand his business.

“The extension is to allow my client to manufacture the cladding on site which will limit the need to have deliveries of cladding, thus will reduce his site traffic along with increasing his workforce in the local area.”

Mr Helm said the development would have only a limited impact on people living in the nearby houses.

He said previously the company was able to take possession of land on the corner of the junction of the Lowmoor industrial park estate and Thomas Fox Road and had carried out a planting scheme to screen the factory from the neighbouring residential development.

Mr Helm said: “The proposal has very limited impact on area, neighbours, property, or highways.

“The site is a clear gavel site with no biodiversity on the site.

“As shown on the previous applications there is a planting scheme to the front boundary to block the site from the neighbouring houses.”

Somerset Council has set itself a target date of June 5 by which to determine the application and is asking for any comments from the public to be submitted to it by May 8.