GFG Alliance said yesterday’s decision clears the way for the company to start detailed design on the landmark project to develop the UK’s only large scale alloy wheel plant. Work could start later this year.
The ambitious plans will make Fort William a major centre for the automotive industry, supplying at least one fifth of all the wheels required by UK vehicle manufacturers.
Speaking after yesterday’s decision, Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the GFG Alliance, welcomed the councillorss approvals of the plans and said he appreciated the valuable input from statutory bodies in the planning process.
He said: “Our plans for Fort William will not only transform the economic prospects of the area but also create the UK’s only large scale alloy wheel plant, a major step forward in Britain’s manufacturing capabilities.
“We plan to invest heavily in Research and development to develop a world class product, made in the Scottish Highlands. We look forward to continuing to work with these bodies to fulfil the conditions set out in the planning consent and then to move ahead quickly with the building of the plant.”
In addition to the skilled employment created at the wheel factory itself, GFG envisages that there will be hundreds more jobs generated in businesses supplying the plant and in the wider Highland economy.
Through the Lochaber Delivery Group, set up by GFG and the Scottish Government, a range or local bodies are working together to address the issues – housing, infrastructure and local services – associated with an industrial development of this scale.
