Planning permission has been secured for new toy manufacturing, assembly and storage facility in Lancashire that will create up to 186 full time equivalent jobs.
HTI Group will invest £30m in building the new facility on land at Mill Farm Sports Village in Wesham, complementing the company’s existing facilities in Fleetwood and also enabling some of its operations to be re-shored to the UK from the Far East.
PWA Planning advised HTI Group and developer Whinfield Commercial on the planning application for the development which will also create over 500 direct construction roles and add around £14m to the region’s economy annually once fully operational.
Located on a 3.3-hectare vacant area of land at Mill Farm, the 160,000 sq ft facility will also include offices, a showroom and parking facilities.
Matt Wyatt, associate at PWA Planning, said: “This development will have a huge economic impact on the area, not just in terms of construction and operational jobs, but also with expenditure on local goods and services and the investment HTI Group intends to make in upskilling its workforce.
“HTI Group wants to double in size in the coming years and we’re proud to have supported our client’s aspirations by achieving planning consent for this development.”
Founded in 1952, HTI Group is one of the UK’s largest independently owned designer and manufacturer of children’s toys, with extensive experience supplying the world’s major retailers. Its produces toys for brands including JCB, Teamsterz, Chicco, Joie, Evo, Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, and Mamas and Papas.
