A TOP employer has proposed a major expansion of its York home to help create hundreds of jobs and to keep the growing business in the city.

Pavers has submitted plans to extend its offices at the Northminster Business Park, which follow on from proposals submitted eight months ago to expand its warehouse space.

The family-owned business founded by Catherine Paver in 1971 has operated at Northminster since 2012, with the Upper Poppleton site as its head office.

But the footwear firm expects its warehousing needs to double in the next five years, as annual sales increase from £200 million in 2022 to £350 million by 2028, forcing a need for more office and warehouse space.

The application said the proposal for new office space would meet the company’s diverse needs, allowing for different sized meeting spaces, collaborative working areas and well-designed shared office space. Modern premises would also help the company attract and retain staff.

The latest scheme follows the application for extra warehouse space on land to the west of the Park, which City of York Council has yet to determine.

At the time, Pavers also said this scheme was essential to the future success of the company and it remaining in York.

The current office accommodation, sited in a 2006 warehouse “is outdated and in need of modernisation and refurbishment,” it continued, and “is no longer fit for purpose.”

Altogether, Pavers research says 130 jobs would be created directly by the company, with a further 78 jobs created elsewhere in the city, supplying the company’s extra needs.

Leeds based architects Group Ginger has designed a new eco-friendly 22,000ft2 office alongside re-purposing the existing 10,000ft2 office to provide a “comfortable, modern, multi-modal, and functional working space for c.200 office-based staff, with shared facilities suitable and inclusive of warehouse colleagues.”

This would cost £10 million to create 11,275m2 of warehouse floorspace capacity and a further £9 million on 2069m2 of extra office space.

The application said Pavers has now reached operational capacity at Northminster, with its storage needs expected to double in five years.

It continued: “A single, centralised distribution and office facility is critical to the future needs of the business. Without approval for additional warehousing capacity at Northminster Business Park, Pavers may need to relocate outside of the York area.

“As a major employer in the city, the investment proposals by Pavers represent an important contribution to the future economic growth of York. The safeguarding of existing output and employment at the Pavers site, and the increased employment capacity, will support the City’s economic performance as a regional and national economic driver.”

Managing director Jason Paver also commented: “The proposed office and warehouse developments are essential to enable the continued success and growth of an established family-owned-and-run York[1]based business. They will enable the Company to fulfil its future growth potential whilst ensuring its resource deployment is productive, efficient, and sustainable.”