Hutchinson Engineering – ONLINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

DESCRIPTION OF DEVELOPMENT

Proposed extension, consolidation and expansion of existing Hutchinson Engineering, Kilrea.

PURPOSE OF THIS CONSULTATION

The purpose of this consultation is to inform the design process and any subsequent planning applications which will

be made to Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council for the above project.

Persons wishing to make comment to the applicant may do so easily via this webpage & further information on the

project is available below.

If you wish to discuss the project or require more information you can also contact Manor Architects directly on

028 867 483 67.

Note that any comments made are to the applicant (Hutchinson) & not the council’s planning team.

An opportunity to make representation to the council’s planning team will be provided at a later stage through the

usual planning process.

Any comment you make is treated in strict confidence and as anonymous.

ABOUT HUTCHINSON ENGINEERING

Hutchinson is a family-based company, operational across UK and Ireland with offices in Kilrea. The multi award-winning, world class engineering facility specialises in sub-contract engineering and metal fabrication for a range of sectors including transport, materials, handling, agriculture, and construction.

The business is rooted in the local rural community and operates on an international level.

The company is focussed on a growth strategy which involves investing in new technology and innovation to improve

productivity and competitiveness and is an exemplar company focussed on training, apprenticeships and alternative management structures and strategies. Investments in equipment, robotics, and automation to increase production capacity and turnaround times are mutually linked with training staff to be the best in the business. The business has provided local employment and is an important business rates contributor to the wider Causeway, Coast andGlens Council area.

As an established existing business in the countryside, Hutchinson is one of the largest local employers within

Causeway Coast and Glens council area and their continued expansion plans will see securing of those jobs as well as enabling them to consolidate and expand to target new markets and secure recent contracts.

LOCATION OF THE SITE

The proposed development is a 2.4 hectare site located at 58s Drumagarner Road, approximately 1.5km southwest of Kilrea Village.

The site is located outside the settlement development limit of Kilrea and is within a non-policy area as designated in the Northern Area Plan 2016.

The Hutchinson factory is located within a complex of buildings and temporary buildings containing engineering workshops, fabrication workshops and office accommodation. No 58 Drumagarner Road is a listed building located to the front of the site. The site benefits from existing access from the Drumagarner Road.

The location map below indicates the position of the site in relation to Kilrea:

ABOUT THE PROPOSED MASTERPLAN

Hutchinson, as part of their continued growth strategy, have embarked on a masterplan strategy to consolidate and expand the existing engineering facility in Kilrea and develop a first-of-its-kind training academy.

The aims and ambitions of the masterplan and consequent planning applications is to consider and improve site flow, access, parking, public and visitor engagement, staff wellbeing, sustainability, and environmentalism and most importantly to allow the company to have a sustained growth and to create a campus and academy reflective of this.

The proposals will be visually integrated into the rural setting and the masterplan offers generous spaces for developing a landscape framework and an integrated landscape and ecology strategy.

Proposed extension, consolidation and expansion of existing Hutchinson Engineering, Kilrea.

The existing factory has expanded into several temporary fabrication buildings located to the rear of the site to accommodate increased fabrication processes. The proposed development will consolidate the temporary buildings into an extended workshop to provide additional fabrication areas within the main workshop and allow for the sustained growth of the business.

Benefits of the proposal include:

• Improve the site flow and operational efficiency.

• Consolidate dispersed office space and increase office space for future growth opportunities.

• Improve and invest in staff welfare facilities

• Utilise existing road infrastructure

• Enhance the biodiversity and rural aesthetic of the area including additional native species planting scheme

• Extension to visually integrate through a considered landscape design strategy

The existing Hutchinson factory is well established rural business, and the proposed extension meets the policy

requirements of PPS21.