Muller’s UK plans to expand its Market Drayton facility having been given the go-ahead by the local Shropshire County Council, which may create up to 300 new jobs.

The development will establish a new manufacturing, storage and distribution facility on an 8.5-hectare space, opposite Muller’s UK headquarters.

The news is a welcome boost for Muller’s Market Drayton workers after the dairy firm announced that it would be making 55 redundancies across the UK, citing the company’s need to need to “remain competitive in a difficult economic climate”. The majority of job losses were expected to fall at the Shropshire plant.

“While it should be stressed that the exact start date has still to be agreed, we are delighted to have been granted full planning permission for a new development by Muller Dairy in Market Drayton,” Seb Jones, Muller Dairy UK’s director notes.