Global building materials manufacturer Mapei has submitted planning documents to Burnley Council proposing a new production tower at Unit 3, Frontier Way, Hapton, to manufacture cement-based products.
The proposal would see a 26-metre-high structure erected alongside the recently completed warehouse at Frontier Park, close to the Burnley-Accrington boundary. Mapei, an international building materials and adhesives company, would also take over the attached building.
Details of the proposed development
The tower would be linked to the existing warehouse and house large storage silos and production equipment needed for the manufacturing process. The application does not include details on how many jobs the facility may create.
The site off Accrington Road already has permission for industrial and storage uses and is currently unoccupied.
Design and manufacturing process
The design and access statement says the facility would be used for the "manufacture and storage of Mapei products", with the tower specifically producing cementitious materials. It adds: "The tower specifically will be used for the manufacture of cementitious based products with the height required to house the necessary material silos."
The documents explain that the height of the structure is dictated by the manufacturing process, which relies on a gravity-fed system requiring raw materials to be stored at an elevated level above the production line.
Visual impact and site considerations
Although the tower would rise almost 12 metres above the existing warehouse roofline, consultants say its visual impact would be limited due to its position within the wider Frontier Park development. A visual assessment accompanying the application concluded that while the structure would be visible from some viewpoints in the surrounding countryside, the effect on views would be "minimal".
The development would be built almost entirely on existing hardstanding and would not result in the loss of vegetation. Parking provision would be reduced to make way for the tower and a new weighbridge, although the application states that the remaining spaces would meet the operational requirements of the business.
The planning statement argues that the proposal would bring manufacturing activity to a site already designated for industrial development. A decision on the application will be made by Burnley Borough Council at a later date.
