A MAJOR Somerset employer will be able to expand after plans to redevelop a vacant industrial site were approved.

Numatic International Ltd. is one of the main employers in Chard, employing nearly 1,100 people in the town and the surrounding area.

The company applied for permission in March 2022 to take over the former Oscar Mayer site within the Millfield industrial estate, which closed in August 2021 alongside Oscar Mayer’s other base on Furnham Road.

In one of its last actions before being abolished, South Somerset District Council has approved plans which will see a further 20,000 sq m for offices, warehouses and other commercial space created on the Millfield site.

The site lies at the eastern end of Millfield, near the existing Numatic complex and a stone’s throw from the Lordleaze Hotel.

The new building will include 6,000 sq m of warehouse space for storing Numatic’s products (including the popular Henry and Hetty vacuum cleaners), as well as an injection moulding plant, assembly line area and storage based for raw materials.

A total of 38 car parking spaces will be provided on site (including two disabled spaces and four electric vehicle charging points), with an additional 12 spaces for HGVs and 40 cycle spaces.

The company – which has been in operation since 1969 – has now confirmed how many new jobs will be created by developing this land.

The council’s regulation committee discussed the plans in Yeovil on Tuesday morning (March 21) – its final meeting before the council is replaced by the new unitary Somerset Council on April 1.

James Fox, Numatic’s principle architect, said: “Around 26 per cent of our current staff actively walk or cycle to work already. We try to encourage that.

“We have 16 electric vehicle charging points on our site already, and any time we do any sort of alteration, we intend on adding to those.

“Acquiring this site provided the opportunity to build a dedicated Henry vacuum cleaner facility; this would include every stage of production, from raw materials through to final distribution for our highest volume product.

“With this integrated design, almost all forklift movements will be eliminated, and it will give us the additional benefit of being able to reconfigure the existing factory buildings to product other product ranges more efficiency.

“Assuming our growth targets are met, we will continue to add to the 1,100 employees we currently have.”

Chard & Ilminster News: Councillors praised Numatic as a “very well-respected company worldwide”.Councillors praised Numatic as a “very well-respected company worldwide”. (Image: Boon Brown Architects)

Numatic also indicated that it still intended to build its planned research and development facility off the A30 Crewkerne Road, which was approved by the council’s area west committee back in November 2019.

Councillor Dave Bulmer – whose Chard Jocelyn ward includes the Millfield site – said: “I’m fully supportive of this – in my view, the benefits far outweigh any negatives.

“My initial concerns, given what happened in Chard two years ago with flooding, have all been addressed.

“I feel any further delay in approving this application could compromise the actual progress of Numatic’s long-term plan. I don’t think you’ve got anything to fear from them.”

Councillor Martin Wale – whose Blackdown and Tatworth ward includes the villages around Chard – agreed: “It’s very good to hear today the influence that this company has on Chard.

“The site they’re taking over was the town’s other big employer – when it closed, there was a great worry about employment in Chard, and frankly that has been filled by the applicant.

“They are a very well-respected company worldwide. Wherever I am in the world, I see a Henry vacuum being towed along, whether it’s a cruise ship or a hotel corridor. They’re a huge asset to South Somerset and the local economy.”

Councilor Sue Osborne said that Numatic had “a proven track record” and the council should do everything it could to protect existing local jobs and encourage the creation of new ones.

She said: “Numatic is to Chard what Leonardo is to Yeovil: a critical, strategic employer – not just locally, but regionally and nationally as well.

“We should do everything we can to support and encourage this business to stay in Chard and provide high-quality apprenticeships and jobs for the people of Chard – they deserve nothing less than that.”

The plans were unanimously approved by the committee after around an hour’s debate – with construction being expected to begin later in the year.