PLANNING permission has been given for nine new factory units on Sandwich Industrial Estate, next to a proposed 300-home residential development.

The 6,000 square metre site will include access road, forecourts and parking on the north-east corner of the industrial estate on Ramsgate Road.

The land next to the former Sagga Kitchens factory is unused and covered in hawthorn scrub. For many years it has been allocated for employment development.

Some of the new units are expected to be used by occupants of the existing industrial estate.