Littleport is destined to become the concrete capital of the Fens after a £2million expansion of a major manufacturer was announced.

FP McCann Ltd of Wisbech Road bought their existing factory from Aggregate Industries in 2013 and has doubled the workforce in three years to 90.

Now they hope to double numbers again after submitting plans to East Cambridgeshire District Council for further expansion.

Agricultural buildings will be converted and a 70 metre by 40 metre concrete product manufacturing facility added to the site.

A vast array of associated developments are set out in their application including extending an existing building by 15 metres with travelling crane rails extended a further 24 metres.

A company statement says the extra investment locally will have “knock-on benefits for the local economy”.

They believe their expansion plans fit well with the council’s ‘Vision for Littleport’ set out in the Local Plan.

McCann offer several thoughts about the visual affects of the expansion – both on neighbours and on the countryside.

“Potential significant visual effects are likely will be confined to those properties overlooking the site and to the site’s immediate boundaries”, says their report.

“The degree of predicted impact is within the range that would be expected for newest built development within or around the edge of an existing industrial area”.

And so far as the landscape is concerned, McCann believes the impact “is predicted to range from neutral to minor and therefore not significant”.

The company says noise is not likely to be a major issue as it is predicted to have a “low noise impact” upon homes to the west, south and south-west.

McCann is hoping to operate seven days a week from 7am to 7pm.