PLANS to build new staff training facilities at a Stagecoach site in Carlisle have been approved by planners at Cumberland Council.

The decision to grant planning permission was made on Wednesday (July 24) and, according to the decision notice, it is subject to conditions.

It was proposed to build an extension in Willow Holme Industrial Estate in the city at an existing bus drivers' office and canteen at the Stagecoach depot in Willow Holme Road.

A planning report concludes: "In overall terms, the proposal remains acceptable. The scale and design of the proposal are acceptable and it would not have an adverse impact on the highway network or flood risk.

"In all aspects, the proposal is compliant with the relevant policies contained within the adopted local plan. The application has been considered under the Council's delegated powers procedure."

According to a design statement the bus depot has been there for many years and the report states: "There is an existing workshop garage building to an area of land also owned by the applicant along with an area of a hard-surfaced yard used for vehicular parking.

"The main area of the depot comprises a hard-surfaced yard and covered garage depot building about 102m wide east/west and about 115m deep north/ south.

"The bus drivers' office/canteen is located on the north-west corner of the site. There is a substantial existing workshop building in the centre of the site that currently is approximately 70m in width and 80m in length. The Bus drivers' office/canteen to which the new extension relates to is 12.3m by 9.1m.

"The general characteristics of the site and immediate surroundings are overtly commercial and industrial, and the depot faces a secondary road.

"The current application proposal involves a new-build development on further land within the applicant’s ownership to the east of the existing commercial area. This is currently a surfaced car park."

According to the report the proposed new extension will add 8.1m to the width and be the same depth of 9.1m with the same eaves and roof height of 2.6m and 5.5m respectively.

The report concludes: "The proposed new building is reasonably required in connection with an existing commercial land use.

"It has been carefully designed for the applicant company to meet their operational requirements and will not appear inappropriate in design terms when related to the characteristics of the site which is previously developed land being mainly a concrete parking yard area.

"There will be benefits in that there will be no material addition to traffic generation caused by the proposal, working conditions for staff at the site will be improved, also no impact on increasing flooding impact."