THE redevelopment of the Tate and Lyle site in Selby has been given the green light in a move which should bring potentially hundreds of new jobs into the town.

Members of Selby District Council’s planning committee gave the go ahead to Sedacol, which produces grain alcohol for brands like Bacardi and Pernod, to redevelop the Denison Road site, a move that should bring 50 permanent jobs and about 300 indirect jobs, as well as work for contractors when the site is being built.

Coun John Mackman, chairman of the planning committee, said the approval of the application was good news for the district.

Coun Mackman said: “A site that is basically redundant will be brought back to life. It will generate 50 permanent jobs, there will be 300 indirect jobs in the district to service the site and there will be a fairly long construction project requiring contractors, electricians, etc. It’s a significant investment in the Selby district bringing jobs and money that no doubt will be spent in local shops.” Coun Mackman said he thought the site would be up and running in a year or two.

The proposed development for the 32-acre site has been put forward by Sedacol UK, a joint venture between Etea of Italy and French company Syral.

Mario Frandino, from Sedacol UK, said: “We’re now one step closer to being able to make these proposals into reality. “Our new processing plant would produce distilled alcohol for sale across the UK and would be the latest in a line of such plants across Europe.”