Retail giant Amazon has submitted a planning application to expand its HGV parking.

The company has a huge warehouse just off the A420 in Shrivenham near Swindon, but now wants to add additional parking for its HGVs for its site in the northeast of the town.

Firstplan has sent a proposal to Swindon Borough Council on behalf of Amazon to increase the number of HGV spaces for its warehouse in South Marston Trading Estate, Symmetry Park.

Short-term proposals have been granted planning permission from the council which will allow for an additional 36 no. of HGV parking spaces to support site operation and peak this year.

However, the long-term aim for Amazon is to HGV parking to up to 76 spaces which would supersede the short-term proposals once implemented.

In publicly accessible documents, Firstplan says that since the building has become fully operational it has become apparent that additional HGV parking is required to meet layover demands which were not anticipated at the time of the original planning application.

The proposals that have been submitted to the council are summarised as follows.

  • Alterations to the eastern corner of the main HGV yard to be widened to accommodate 24 new trailer parking spaces, landscaping remodelled and fencing repositioned to suit new trailer parking lineage;

• Alterations to the northern corner of the main HGV yard with existing landscaping to be removed to extend the service yard to accommodate 23 new trailer parking spaces new trailer parking lineage;

• Alterations to the northern corner of the main HGV yard existing landscaping to be removed to extend the service yard to accommodate 19 new trailer parking spaces new trailer parking lineage;

• Alterations to the western corner of the main HGV yard existing landscape to be removed to extend the service yard to accommodate for 10 new trailer parking spaces new lineage.

Amazon says it expects to receive a decision from Swindon Borough Council in the autumn. 

The giant is one of many companies looking to alleviate increased costs as it looks to raise the price of its Prime service for UK customers.

From September, monthly subscriptions will go up £1 to £8.99 and annual membership will rise from £79 to £95.

Amazon said the price rise, its first in the UK since 2014, was partly due to inflation, which is at a 40-year high.