A £10m expansion at one of York’s major employers has been approved- keeping the business and its hundreds of jobs in the city.
The planning committee of City of York Council approved a 11,015m2 expansion of a Pavers on the Northminster Business Park at Poppleton.
Members agreed that the 130 jobs that the expansion would also bring, delivered the ‘very special circumstances’ that would allow the scheme to be built in the Green Belt.
The decision contrasts with a refusal of similar plans in November 2022, which was met with uproar from some quarters and Pavers threatening to leave the city.
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At the meeting of planning committee, Pavers Group Managing Director Jason Paver spoke of how his grandmother Cathy Paver founded the business in 1971 with a £200 bank loan.
It had grown rapidly, employing more than 300 in York and having stores around the country.
Since the pandemic, online sales had increased 700 per cent creating operational constraints as “we have run out of space.”
The company uses external storage providers, Mr Paver continued, but this was expensive. What is needed is the expansion of its highly technical logistics and distribution centre.
“We are in a highly competitive retail sector. If we don’t act now, it will threaten our economic viability,” he told the meeting.
Though it would be cheaper to relocate elsewhere, Mr Paver said the company preferred to stay in York, but it needed a single site for its operations, something rival businesses enjoy too.
“Our expectation is that using technology, the expansion would allow us to more than double our business. We envisage this as a good medium-term solution for us.”
After councillors quizzed council planning staff over details, Cllr Chris Steward said the application was ‘inappropriate development’ in the Green Belt, adding local parish councils opposed it.
But the benefits, something also noted by the York Civic Trust, were significantly higher than harm. He too noted that Pavers “would be better off getting cheap land elsewhere.”
He said of concerns over the Green Belt: “It’s not what puts food on people’s tables at night.”
However, Cllr Tony Fisher noted the council refused a business expansion in the Green Belt for a small firm, wondering if things were different for large ones.
Cllr Emily Nelson said she had been “really stressed” reading the council reports on the scheme, noting either way councillors can’t make the right decision, due to the conflict between the Green Belt, farmland, but also the importance of York supporting business.
Coun Dave Merrett noted the application featured landscaping that would actually reduce the site’s impact.
“We require this business to stay in York. It’s a vital local business.”
Cllr Christian Vassie also saw the economic benefits but called for a ‘green roof’ saying Pavers could make its application better.
Planning Committee chairman Cllr Jonny Crawshaw says planning is always about balance but he noted how traffic movements would drop due to the company consolidating its operations to a single site.
That Pavers prefers to stay York when it “could be more profitable” to move elsewhere, showed “a commitment to the community.”
Members then voted overwhelmingly for the scheme, with Cllr Fisher against and Cllr Nelson abstaining.
After the vote, a spokesperson for Pavers said: “We’re grateful to receive support from Councillors and the Planning Department to bring 130 new jobs to York, helping to secure our foreseeable future in the city where our family business has been based for over 50 years.
“We appreciate the strong backing received from partners in the city; including the Council’s team for Economic Development, Chamber of Commerce, York Civic Trust, and local MPs.
“We look forward to investing further in York and continuing to sustainably grow our range of comfortable, affordable, and quality footwear for our customers.”
Sarah Czarnecki, president of York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, added: “The approval of this job creating, revenue generating expansion is fantastic news and just the sort of investment we want to see in York.
“Pavers is a York success story, and it is wonderful to see them continuing their journey here in the city.
“I congratulate both the management team of Pavers and City of York Council on this news. It is pleasing to see such a pro-business and pro-investment attitude being displayed and I look forward to similar sentiments going forward.”