Detailed plans unveiled for Telford defence logistics base

The plans are the next step in the creation of the Defence Fulfilment Centre at MoD Donnington which will safeguard 1,000 jobs and potentially create a further 700 once it opens.

It is hoped building work could start as soon as the autumn and comes after the MoD confirmed in February that Telford had been chosen as the location for its Logistics, Commodities and Services (Transformation) in preference to Bicester in Oxfordshire.

The new centre will be accessed from Hortonwood 50 in order to place as little pressure as possible on the surrounding road network, according to plans submitted by Telford & Wrekin Council.

Warehouses earmarked for the site have also been reduced in height to a maximum of 18 metres compared to those suggested in initial outline plans.

The planning application also suggests ideas for protecting wildlife and using different colours and textures for buildings to "minimise their visual impact".

The application also includes proposals for the earthwork, landscaping and screening of the site to the north and west, including landscaped banks along the site's northern boundary.

In time, a band of native woodland and thicket will grow to provide additional screening and a strong emphasis is being placed on a biodiversity plan because of special features on the site. These include a breeding habitat for great crested newts and bats, with the surrounding habitat also occupied by water voles and badgers.

Telford & Wrekin Council has worked with Kuehne and Nagel, the logistics lead in the MoD's appointed consortium for the project, their design team and Natural England to ensure the proposals have as little impact on the environment as possible.

Kate Callis, Telford & Wrekin Council's assistant director for development, business and employment, said the council had been working hard to get to this point since Telford was chosen as the location for the Defence Fulfilment Centre.

She said: "I am delighted that we have now been able to submit this detailed application.

"This is a significant milestone to realising the substantial inward investment that Telford will benefit from. I feel it is a sensitive and well thought out application which hopefully provides positive news for nearby residents, in that the building is nearly 50 per cent lower than the original planning application allowed for.

"The maximum height allowed for at outline planning stage was only ever a contingency and was intended to put Telford in the best possible position with the bidders."