A MAJOR employer is planning to launch a huge new hub in Bolton which could create up to 1,200 jobs for local people.

The company, which has not yet been named, is planning to move into a soon-to-be modified facility at the Logistics North development in Over Hulton, if plans are approved.

Planning chiefs are remaining tight-lipped on the identity of the business, but it is understood to be of a similar size to German giant Aldi, which has also moved on to the former Cutacre mining site.

If plans are approved, hundreds of new jobs will be created for people from Bolton — ranging from picking, sorting and packing up to managerial and strategic positions.

The new hub will be based at Plot E1 at Logistics North, off the M61 motorway and will involve adding major extensions on to an existing distribution and storage facility, which was created speculatively by Harworth Estates — the developer behind Logistics North.

Now construction firm First Industrial have applied for permission to make the changes, which it says are required to ‘ensure the building is suitable for the bespoke and very particular requirements of the proposed occupier’.

This will include extending existing offices and staff welfare facilities through the addition of a three-storey wrap-around extension.

This will increase the existing floor space of the building from just over 33,600 sq ft to 38,402 sq ft — an increase of 15.4 per cent.

While there is an existing surface level car park for up to 280 vehicles currently on the plot, the huge numbers of staff expected to be employed at the centre mean plans have been put forward to create a multi-storey car park and increase the capacity to 840 spaces.

There will also be space for three buses to park as the employer is expected to ‘bus in’ large numbers of agency workers at busy times, such as in the run up to Christmas.

Discussing the number of jobs that could be created at the new development, a planning statement said: “The majority of the staff are expected to come from Bolton and the surrounding area, with up to 1,200 staff anticipated to be on site during a peak shift.

“Proposed jobs range from managerial, Information Technology, office related, picking, sorting and packing.

“Jobs in managerial, supervisory and technical professions will be high as the operation is ‘person intensive and reliant on computerised stock control and management.

“Jobs available will therefore suit a range for different skill sets and requirements, ranging from driving and picking through to advanced stock management.”

If the plans are successful, the new facility will operate 22 hours a day, seven days a week on a day/night shift pattern with workers arriving on a staggered basis.

First Industrial, the firm behind the plans, describes itself as a ‘specialist real estate development company’.

To give a sense of the scale of company which could be set to arrive in Bolton, First has a portfolio of creating developments which have been leased by firms such as Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Primark and Amazon.

The planning statement adds: “The proposed development is a direct response to meeting the specific needs of a major employer who will be taking a long-term lease and making a significant investment in the site and indeed in Bolton — once operational, the facility will support a very large number of jobs.”

“It will also deliver significant economic benefits to Bolton, generating business rates and expenditure in the local supply chain.”

The plans will now be analysed by council officers and if they are approved, the identity of the mystery employer is expected to be announced soon.