Planners have given final approval to a bid by East of England Co-op to revamp its former dairy site near Ipswich.
The society intends to put a mixed retail and leisure development on the three-hectare site now that Ipswich Council has agreed its proposals on access, appearance, layout, landscaping and scale.
The co-op closed its dairy and distribution centre, at Boss Hall Business Park, in October 2019.
The decision came after the society joined the Co-op Group’s National Integrated Supply Chain, which now delivers fresh, frozen and shelf-ready food to its stores in East Anglia.
It will now demolish the old forklift charging building and split the warehouse into three units – two commercial and one leisure. It is hoped the development will create 170 jobs.
No tenants have been lined up for the new units but the society already has links to gyms and retailers.
Developers said the new units will be “high quality” and contemporary in design, which they claim will improve the architectural quality of the area.
