PERMISSION has been given for a large area of land in north Glasgow to be used for storage of hundreds of vehicles.
Glasgow City councillors approved the proposal by Allied Vehicles which involves a council-owned site in Finlas Street, Possilpark. There will be room for around 500 vehicles.
Allied Vehicles Ltd is a leading specialist in the design, manufacture, support and sales of wheelchair accessible vehicles, employing around 715 people, including a large number at its adjacent facilities.
The company stated in its planning application: “The business model necessitates movement and storage of vehicles on a large scale across the Possilpark campus.
“Allied Vehicles Ltd presently manufactures 7,000 vehicles per year and in doing so require adequate space to store vehicles that are both destined to be converted into wheelchair accessible vehicles in addition to those that have been completed through the manufacturing process and are awaiting delivery to the end-user.
“The business also requires additional capacity to facilitate trade-ins from existing customers.
“On average there are currently approximately 1,600 vehicles on site on any week. Secure storage, internal movement and loading/unloading of that number of vehicles requires a considerable operational area.
“Presently, capacity restrictions within the existing site are placing constraints on the supply chain process and accordingly the productivity of the plant.”
The area will be finished in compacted gravel, with a 2.4-metre-high fence around it plus lighting and security camera columns.
Planning officials, who had recommended approval, stated in their report: “The site has been discounted in the most recent Housing Land Supply Audit (2019), and is not required to maintain a five-year supply of effective housing land in the city.
“The applicant is a successful business in the area, and the proposed development is intended to assist the business in achieving further growth and operational efficiency.”
The report continues: “To help visually screen the car parking area and contribute to improved habitat and biodiversity, a generous landscape buffer is proposed to the Torr Street boundary, as well as to the east and west boundaries. This will provide habitat creation and good biodiversity value. In addition the landscaping will provide some visual amenity to screen the car parking area.”
A core path through the site will re-routed to keep a connection between Torr Street and Ashfield Street for use by the community.
Vehicle movements within the site will be restricted to between 8am and 8pm daily.
