A company which makes precision parts for the NHS has applied to Tewkesbury Borough Council for permission to build a new industrial building.

Plans for the proposed building in Toddington will be discussed by the council's planning committee on Tuesday (December 17).

Bushell & Meadows is currently based at Tewkesbury Business Park, but has outgrown the space and needs to expand. The firm currently employs 50 workers, which is set to rise to between 75 and 80 in the next five to 10 years.

Having failed to find suitable alternative accommodation elsewhere, and wishing to remain in Tewkesbury borough, it has applied to the council to build its new premises on 3.6ha of agricultural land close to Orchard Business Park in Toddington.

John Ryde Commercial has monitored the market for the business and confirmed the application site is the only suitable opportunity which has arisen in five and a half years.

Council officers are recommending the committee gives plans for the proposed 8,625sq m industrial building the go-ahead. But both Toddington Parish Council and neighbouring Alderton Parish Council have objected to the plans.

Objections include the fact that the site is separate from any built-up area, as well as increased traffic, concerns around vehicle access and highway safety.

There have also been 61 objections from member of the public.

The application site was previously recognised as potential employment land in the Tewkesbury Borough Plan.

The proposals are supported by the council's Economic Development Team, which supports the retention of an established business and its existing employees in the borough and also allows for the growth and expansion of an existing company in a key growth sector for the borough.

Bushell & Meadows said remaining within Tewkesbury borough is important to it to support its existing staff. The workforce is predominantly skilled engineers and machinists, who produce precision engineered components for the medical industry, including the NHS.

A large proportion of the company's employees have worked for the company for a long time, starting on apprenticeship programmes, and training to operate the company's specialist machinery.

The company said it is essential that these skills are retained within the business. Staff welfare, including travel time to work, is a key consideration of its long-term planning.

The planning application is a hybrid application, which seeks full planning permission for phase 1 of the plans - erection of the industrial building - and phase 2 seeks outline planning permission for a smaller industrial building to be built at a later date. Phase 1 will support Bushell & Meadows' current requirement for more floorspace, while phase 2 will allow for future business growth.

The plans will be discussed next week (December 17), and officers are recommended the development be permitted.