An industrial unit once home to Spirax Sarco on Kingsditch Lane, Cheltenham could be demolished to make way for a building merchants, if a planning application gets the go-ahead.

Saint Gobain Building Distribution has submitted the proposal to Cheltenham Borough Council for the demolition of the currently vacant unit, originally a manufacturing facility for steam products, to be rebuilt as a Jewson's Builders Merchants.

The site lies on Kingsditch business park, one of Cheltenham's biggest business park, which is home to 20-plus companies and was sold for £20.5 million back in July 2018.

Jewson is one of the largest chains of builders' merchants in the UK, catering to the public as well as trade.

The planned move sparks direct competition with independent Gloucestershire builder's merchants, Bence, which recently acquired a former car dealership site less than a mile away to convert and re-open as its newest store later this year.

The proposal by Saint Gobain includes the 'formation of sales counter, ancillary offices and warehouse' as well as the change of use to a builder's merchant. It estimated it could create up to 15 full time jobs.

The application also asked to be able to open Monday to Friday, from 6:30am to 6pm as well as slightly reduced hours at weekends.