SOFT drinks company Macaw will create a "significant" number of jobs if councillors give the go-ahead to a new factory on a greenfield site.

Macaw, one of the fastest expanding companies in the area, wants to build a 15,500sq metre factory in a field on the other side of Pendle Water from Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, Nelson.

It would employ 100 people, according to the company's outline plans.

The new unit would be linked to Macaw's existing factory by a new bridge over the river. Bosses said it would allow the company to continue its expansion on a single site to meet the demands of its customers and be the base for significant growth in the business over the next few years.

Macaw is planning a multi-million pound investment in the area. The company said it did not court publicity and did not want to comment on the application until a decision was made.

A "significant" number of new jobs would be created if the new factory gets the go ahead, Macaw said.

The company supplies own-label soft drinks to major national supermarket chains such as Asda, Tesco and Morrisons. It currently employs 230 people but that could rise by up to 100 if councillors grant planning permission for the new factory.

The application is likely to be controversial because it effectively extends the industrial estate into the neighbouring countryside. Planners do not expect a decision on the scheme before next year.

The Macaw site was earmarked for industrial use in the draft local plan, which sets out what land should be used for, but was moved back into the green belt when the local plan was approved in January this year.

The application will be discussed by the council's Barrowford and Western Parishes area committee on October 7. The site falls within Fence which is covered by the committee.

The company began on the industrial estate in 1990 and has grown into a major drinks supplier. It has taken extra storage space in Accrington to build up stock for the new millennium.

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