Magna Park expansion will 'boost' Leicestershire jobs

Magna Park, near Lutterworth, currently covers eight million sq ft (750,000 sq m)

A planned expansion of a distribution park could bring thousands of jobs to Leicestershire, it is claimed.

The owners of Magna Park, near Lutterworth, want to extend the site by six million sq ft (550,000 sq m).

They estimate about 9,000 new jobs could be created if the proposals are approved by the local authority.

Chris Hobson from the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce said it would boost an area suffering from a lack of jobs.

He said: "The area surrounding Magna Park sits between Market Harborough, Leicester, Coventry and Hinckley, [where] there's actually quite low unemployment.

"We need to make sure people can get there but in terms of the wider picture jobs puts wealth in people's pockets and they spend that in the local economy."

Two applications have been submitted to Harborough District Council, one to expand Magna Park and another to create a similar hub south of the site on farmland.

Magna Park's owners hope to host a warehouse for parcel firm DHL