A CHANGE-OF-USE application concerning a former detergent factory building in Barrow is to be scrutinised by the borough council's planning committee.

The plan is for the former McBride site in Park Road to be utilised for storage and distribution 'to support BAE's operations for the long-term storage of slow-turnover items used at their other sites'.

In a report produced ahead of Tuesday's planning committee meeting, case officer Maureen Smith says: "They [BAE] have advised that these are items that would be able to be transported with standard heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and road-going vehicles and are likely to be items such as raw materials, scaffolding, piping, metal plates etc.

"Operations would be carried out on a 24/7 basis with around 40 employees."

The planning application, submitted by Mr S Fountain, of BAE Systems Marine Limited, is also seeking permission to build a 3m-high fence around the high-voltage switchgear compound and a new section of fencing in the south-east corner of the site 'to connect the existing fence line'.

"Some other minor works are proposed which do not require planning consent, such as line-marking the car park, repairing the existing roller shutter doors and installation of internal racking," says Ms Smith in her report.

In her conclusion, she says the application would bring 'a vacant industrial building back into use' and would assist 'a large local employer in improving their business logistics'.

"The proposal meets the economic objective of sustainable development, and greater environmental objectives can further be secured through planning conditions," she says.

"Any impact on local residents is potentially beneficial due to the change from a more intensive manufacturing use to that of storage, with a smaller workforce involved - although conditions on noise, lighting and HGV operating hours will help mitigate any potentially adverse impacts."

Ms Smith has recommended the application for approval, subject to a number of conditions, including that the access to the site is not used by HGVs between the hours of 10pm and 6am 'in order to protect the residential amenity of nearby properties'.