BRIGG GARDEN CENTRE: NEW JOBS COULD BE CREATED

Fifteen jobs could be created at Brigg Garden Centre if proposals for new developments are approved.
The company is now seeking planning permission from West Lindsey District Council - the centre near the A1084 on Bigby High Road being in Kettleby, just beyond the Brigg and North Lincolnshire border.
The Gainsborough-based West Lindsey authority has received a Planning Statement prepared on behalf of British Garden Centres (BGC) to support two separate planning applications for new offices and warehousing.
The first (now under consideration) is seeking permission for the removal of existing buildings and structures and the erection of a two-storey office building and car parking area.
A second will be submitted "in due course" for demolition of existing buildings and structures and the erection of a two-storey warehouse, reconfiguration of a car park, laying out of a service yard and the erection of service yard fence.
Planners have been told that these are required to provide much-needed additional office and storage space at the  centre, which acts as BGC’s head office and is a key rural business within the area.
"The proposal will therefore result in new employment opportunities and investment to the benefit of the local economy," the statement stresses.
Described as a key employer, the garden centre, including the head office and associated restaurant, currently employs 198 staff - 143 of whom are from the local area.
"In addition to maintaining the current number of jobs at the garden centre, the two proposals will support a number of additional permanent jobs," the council has been told.
The new facilities will enable up to five new staff within the warehouse facility, along with between 10 and 15 new staff members at the proposed office space. The application document suggests 15 new employees in total.
West Lindsey District Council indicates that a Public Consultation Period is now underway on the application proposing removal of existing buildings and structures and the erection of an office building and car parking area.
Kettleby is within West Lindsey's Kelsey Ward. Brigg Town Council has previously chosen to comment on some West Lindsey planning applications relating to sites on the other side of the border.