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A Bristol-based packaging company has outlined plans to move to a new factory in Yate, create 100 new jobs and build 260 new homes at its current location.

Graphic Packaging International says its 1930s factory on Filwood Road in Fishponds is no longer fit for purpose. The company obtained planning permission 12 years ago to demolish it and build new houses there, but was unable to find a suitable location in or around the city to move to at the time, so it never moved.

But now the company has found a new site, in the Great Western Business Park, and says that moving there will trigger an expansion that will create 100 jobs in the medium term. And the firm’s bosses have revealed what they would like to do with the current site of the factory, with plans revealed for 260 new houses.

Read next: Plans unveiled for 2,500 new homes on Bristol industrial estate

The GPI site on Filwood Road is one of three industrial sites in the heart of Fishponds that are coming together for major urban regeneration – clearing out factory units and building new housing in their place. The general project was presented for the first time by bristol live last week – read more about that here – but now, more detailed plans for one of the three sites have been revealed, along with plans for the company to relocate seven miles south to Gloucestershire.

GPI workers have been briefed on the proposed move – it has been on the cards for a long time since the company first obtained planning permission for new homes in 2012. That planning permission has now expired, so that a new planning application is being submitted, for 260 new homes. houses

Two-thirds of the new homes – around 175 – would be two-, three- or four-bedroom homes, and the rest, between 85 and 90, would be apartments.

GPI said if it gets planning permission for the new homes, it will sell the site to a homebuilder, who will then apply for detailed planning permission. The firm will be holding a public consultation event at its Filwood Road base on Monday 27 March from 2:30pm to 7:30pm and will invite all local residents to come and see what it wants to do.

“We’ve been on this site for a long time, but it was built in the 1930s and it’s just not fit for purpose anymore,” Graphic Packaging International general manager Martin Sheppard said.

“We have planned this move for a long time and have finally secured a bespoke building on a long-term lease that will allow us to invest in significant growth that will create 100 new jobs in the medium term.

“Our Filwood Road site is in the middle of a mainly residential area, with a primary school among our closest neighbours. Running a large industrial company, with many heavy vehicles coming and going throughout the day, is not ideal. This location is much more suitable for new houses.

“Obtaining planning permission for 260 new homes will allow us to invest in growth and job creation. It will also free up a large brownfield site for much-needed new housing to help address the ongoing housing crisis facing Bristol,” he added.

The GPI site is one of three sites in the area unveiled last week as a major urban regeneration project dubbed ‘Atlas Place’, on which thousands of new houses could be built. In addition to Graphic Packaging International, the Castel Ltd site on Goodneston Road and Central Fishponds Ltd, the industrial buildings north of Filwood Road around Verona House, are included in the scheme, which is backed by Bristol City Council planners. to develop a master plan for the site.

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