Massive jobs boost for Rasen

More than 60 jobs look set to be created in Market Rasen after plans for a new factory were given the green light by West Lindsey District Council.
The current Parallel  Flooring  Accessories site in  Pasture Lane which the  firm has outgrown EMN-160309-094342001The current Parallel  Flooring  Accessories site in  Pasture Lane which the  firm has outgrown EMN-160309-094342001
The current Parallel Flooring Accessories site in Pasture Lane which the firm has outgrown EMN-160309-094342001

Parallel Flooring Accessories Limited in Pasture Lane applied for permission to build a new commercial workshop and offices.

The plans include provision of an access road, car parking, HGV turning area and external landscaping, on a larger area of grassland 40 metres north of its existing site.

The planning application says the company is a ‘market leader’ for flooring accessories in the UK and Europe, and expanding ‘exponentially’.

A design and access statement, included in the application, states: “The application allows the Market Rasen company Parallel Flooring Accessories Limited to expand and achieve sustainable growth, allowing it to be a strong and competitive company in the UK and European flooring accessories markets and in doing so create 60 plus jobs for Market Rasen, creating genuine prosperity for the town.

“The application will allow the company’s existing Pasture Lane site to be redeveloped for residential land use and thus allow it to deliver more high quality housing for Market Rasen all within walking distance of Parallel Flooring’s new site i.e. Parallel being a key sustainable employer for the town.”

But Market Rasen Town Council, and many nearby residents, objected to the plans, saying the area was at high risk of flooding.

The town council also raised concerns about an increase in traffic coming in from Willingham Road onto Pasture Lane.

One resident, who lives in nearby Riverside, said: “I am also concerned regarding the parking situation on Pasture Lane, where the current residents rely on street parking.

“This in itself poses the difficulty of room for HGVs to pass through without compromising the footpath and endangering pedestrians.”

And several residents raised concerns about potential smells from the factory, and suggested Gallamore Lane Industrial Estate would be a more suitable site - as it is further away from residential properties.

The new Pasture Lane development will have 835 square-metres of office space and 1940 square-metres of industrial space, with parking for 27 cars.

Parallel’s application says the new factory will further expand its ‘key employer status’ within Market Rasen.

And it adds: “It also increases the biodiversity of the site, in the form of a new surface water attenuation pond complete with reed bed and extensive tree planting, which encompasses the new building.”