PLANS for a large new industrial estate, expected to create almost 2,000 new jobs, are set to get the go-ahead.

The proposals are for the new business spaces across seven new buildings near Burnt Mills Road, North Benfleet, very close to the A127. The site is green belt land and farmland and is also close to a number of listed buildings.

Basildon Borough Council's planning committee is set to discuss the plans at a meeting on September 10.

The proposed business park is estimated to provide up to 1,870 full time jobs on site. Construction could take 27 months from this year to 2028 if agreed.

The units could be used for industrial, storage, distribution, research and development or industrial firms. The plans also include offices, a new link road between Courtauld Road and Pound Lane and associated junctions.

The council's planning officer has raised concerns about "significant harm" to the green belt and the impact on nearby listed buildings. However the officer added that so called "very special circumstances", relating to what are considered benefits of the proposals, outweigh the concerns around the possible harms.

The site of the planned park

The officer's report states: "Overall, it is considered that all of the harms identified, which include the heritage harms, the harm to the local landscape character and setting, and to the openness of the green belt and the loss of agricultural land are, in the opinion of officers, clearly outweighed in this case by other considerations so that very special circumstances do exist.

"The other considerations are in the form of the economic benefits of the proposal which carry significant positive weight in favour of the proposed development.

"In this regard, the proposals will deliver up to 122,237square metres of new floorspace for industrial, storage or distribution, research and development, and or industrial processes with ancillary offices. This would provide a range of unit sizes which are particularly needed in the borough.

"The proposed development is estimated to provide up to 1,870 full time on-site jobs to the benefit of the local economy. The demand for such uses is supported by the council's evidence base. Officers accept the evidence provided by the developer insofar as it demonstrates an acute need for industrial and logistics floorspace in the borough."