ONE of the UK's leading property companies, MEPC plc, has agreed to fund a massive development by builders Pochin at the Midpoint18 business and industrial park in Middlewich.

The factory, which will be one of the largest new facilities to be built in the region in recent years, has been pre-let to truck manufacturer ERF, which has agreed a 25-year lease.

Gavin Jason, a director of MEPC, said: "This is a strategic acquisition for MEPC. Midpoint 18 is well located for manufacturing and distribution.

"The pre-let to ERF has been achieved without any Government assistance or public support."

Planning consent for the ERF facility has been granted and contractors have recently begun work at the park, which is now one of the largest in the north west.

ERF is relocating to the Middlewich site from its current base in Sandbach - a move which has prompted some controversy.

As was reported in last week's Guardian, the eco group Friends of the Environment is unhappy with the move, claiming that it will increase traffic in the area and cause more pollution.

However, ERF bosses have refuted this, saying that the move will lead to a substantial reduction in ERF traffic passing through the centre of Middlewich during the day.

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