A £6 million scheme to revamp a lorry maintenance site will create 12 jobs, its operator says.

Hartshorne Motor Services has submitted a planning application to modernise its facility at Parkhouse Industrial Estate in Chesterton.

The proposals would involve the demolition of an existing workshop and industrial building, the erection of a replacement workshop and office and the refurbishment of two MOT buildings.

According to the application, the works would allow the company to take on up to 12 new staff, bringing the total number of employees on the site to around 40.

Hartshorne, which provides motor services and truck sales to the wider Volvo Group in the UK, has occupied the site for more than 40 years. But the company says the existing facilities are 'insufficient to meet current requirements'.

Modernising the site will allow the company to support Volvo's transition to hydrogen and electric powered trucks and buses in the coming years, the application says.

Planning officers at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council have recommended the proposals for approval.

The report to the planning committee says the development 'represents a good quality design' and that there would be no significant harm the visual amenity of the area.

Members of the planning committee will consider the application when they meet on Tuesday, August 12.