ONE of the biggest Chinese food producers in the UK is looking to create a larger factory and base in Oswestry, according to a planning application.

A planning application submitted to Shropshire Council this week is for King-Fu Foods, as part of Oriental Food Express, which is seeking to change the use of four units on the Measbury Road Industrial Estate, off Glovers Meadow.

The company describes makes frozen dim sum and supplies Chinese supermarkets across the UK. 

Representatives for the business say the plan is to convert units B8 through to B2 at the estate from storage and distribution use to general industry.

OTHER NEWS:

The site has also been previously used as a builder’s yard.

A planning statement, submitted by Creative Planning, said the plan is for the business to expand its current operation on the estate to the converted units.

It said: “The applicant currently operates from the adjacent unit to the east of the site where food is stored and distributed wholesale.

“The applicant wishes to move the food processing and manufacturing to the application site so that It can be prepared adjacent to its distribution hub.

“The four existing buildings are currently used as storage. It is proposed that they would be repurposed so that wholesale food manufacturing could be undertaken.

“This would result in minor internal changes and some upgrading of existing building fabric.

“The existing canopy area, currently used for loading and unloading HGVs, will be filled in to create additional usable floor area underneath and the plant room will be removed and the adjacent unit squared off.

“The overall footprint of the buildings will remain the same.”

It added: “The buildings in question have a physical link to the adjacent buildings which are used by the same company for storage and distribution.

“As a result, most of the raw materials and finished products will be transported through this internal passage to and from Coldmove Ltd.

Therefore, the number of large external trucks entering and leaving our factory will be for deliveries and fairly minimal.”

It added: “As the site was last used for storage and distribution, there is more than adequate space to manoeuvre articulated lorries around the site and therefore the highways should not be obstructed at any time.”

Get in touch

Share your views on this story by sending a letter to the editor. To get in touch email news@bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk, or fill in the form on this section of our website.

The application has also included a letter from Mark Perry, technical specialist planning officer at Shropshire Council, after the applicants requested pre-application advice.

He said: “Overall, it is the opinion of officers that there is no objection in principle to the commercial development proposed subject to the provision of the information and details set above with any application.”

However, he added that this was an informal opinion and a planning application would be treated differently.