Tiptree Jam maker Wilkin and Sons allowed to spread

Wilkin and Sons will help fund the new factory with housing on its current site

Jam maker Wilkin and Sons has been given permission in principle for a larger factory with almost double the number of workers.

The firm's products, which include Tiptree Jam, are sold across the world.

It said the new factory in Tiptree would allow to expand its operation.

Colchester Borough Council has given outline planning permission both for the new factory and for new housing which the jam maker wants to help pay for the new building.

Joint managing director Ian Thurgood said last year the business put on triple shifts for the first time, operating around the clock, to meet demand.

He said villagers in Tiptree had been involved in the designs for the new factory, adding: "We've got to try and build to that model as best we can. We've got to get it right."

The workforce, he said, was expected to grow from about 300 to 500 over the coming years.

To fund the factory Wilkin and Sons got permission for 118 homes on its current site off Factory Hill and 126 homes on land off nearby Chapel Road.

Some in the village are concerned about the impact of nearly 250 more homes and whether the new homes are too close to existing homes in the Chapel Road area.