Plans for a new railhead, next to an existing sawmill near Carlisle, have been submitted to Cumberland Council.
It is the latest planning application for the site next to the BSW Sawmills facility in the village.
It follows a period of public consultation over the previous application and the latest application includes:
- The new railhead;
- Up to 10,200 square metres of warehouse and auxiliary office space;
- Up to 10,000 square metres of open storage area;
- Up to 2200 square metres of office and supporting infrastructure space;
- Internal roads and infrastructure.
The existing use of the site is described as agricultural land which is used as pasture and the application also includes provision for 11 HGV and 22 car parking spaces.
According to a planning statement the proposed development is intended to expand BSW’s existing operations, modernise the manufacturing processes and allow for the distribution of goods via rail freight.
The report said: “BSW, as part of the Binderholz Group, is investing heavily in low carbon methods to transport goods between their facilities.
“The proposed railhead component will allow for multi-modal rail freight transport (import/export) of raw and processed timber products between BSW sites in the UK and Cargo.
“The proposed railhead and warehousing will help accommodate BSW’s ambitions for modernisation and expansion of existing operations at the Cargo site and will help reduce their carbon footprint.”
According to the report the application site comprises of two adjacent parcels of land, which combining Site One and Site Two, would be approximately 6.32 hectares (63,234.98 square metres) and both parcels are undeveloped, with borders comprising of hedgerow and some mature vegetation.
The report added: “The main BSW mill complex is situated to the north of the site. The mill comprises of large storage areas for processed and unprocessed timber goods, warehouses for the manufacturing of processed timber goods and other ancillary structures.
“The existing BSW site lies north west of the city centre and on the main road (C1016) running between the roundabout junction of the A686 and Cargo and Rockcliffe villages.
“The existing sawmill site is situated approximately 500m to the east of the settlement of Cargo. It covers approximately 15 hectares of land and is an irregular shape bound to the east and north by railway track, sidings and storage areas. To the west and south the site is bound by the C1016 and agricultural land.”
The business was established in 1848 and is one of the largest sawmilling companies in the UK. The family-owned business was purchased by Binderholz in 2021 and has four main operating divisions: forestry, sawmilling, timber manufacturing and energy.
It has occupied and operated from the Cargo site for more than 30 years and during this time the manufacturing processes, and the site development, has evolved.
The application is currently being considered by planning officers at the council.
