An East Lancashire online furniture firm has announced plans to expand its operations at its base on the West Pennine moors above Darwen, promising job creation with a new warehouse development.
Expansion Plans at Waterside Park
GFW Ltd has submitted a planning application to Blackburn with Darwen Council for a new storage building at its existing site at Waterside Park, near Eccleshill village, off Johnson Road. The company, which sells furniture online, including the GFW Nervata Coffee Table available at Argos, currently employs 55 people at the site. The proposed expansion is expected to create an additional eight jobs.
The application comes after a previous scheme for a 95-home housing estate on the same site, granted planning approval in August 2024, was abandoned. That proposal would have required the company to relocate its headquarters.
Operational Necessity
Supporting documents submitted with the new application state that the site is located within the designated Green Belt but argue that the development is an operational necessity. The documents explain that the existing GFW Ltd operation has reached full storage capacity and requires additional contiguous floor space immediately adjacent to its current premises to maintain service levels and support modest growth.
The business model depends on direct adjacency between storage, packing, and despatch to avoid double-handling of bulky furniture, minimise damage risk, and preserve rapid turnaround times for customers. Relocating storage to an off-site facility would materially increase labour and transport costs, raise HGV movements across the borough, lengthen delivery lead times, and introduce significant logistical complexity that would undermine operational efficiency.
Design and Visual Impact
The proposed structure is a modular steel-framed building designed to provide flexible and efficient storage space. It will be located within a valley and therefore at a lower level than the surrounding area, ensuring its visual envelope is contained and limited. The proposal represents an intensification and improvement of previously developed commercial land.
Economic and Social Benefits
According to the application, the proposal would deliver a significant economic boost locally, with clear and measurable social benefits for the local community and the borough's economy. Job retention and creation are primary outcomes of the development.
