INTERNATIONAL coatings specialist Barrier Group plans to build a new factory and office building as part of a £1.8m investment.

The company is submitting plans for a 2,720 square metre facility on a two acre site on Hadrian Way, Wallsend close to its existing operation on the banks of the River Tyne.

The expansion is being supported by a £164,000 Regional Growth Fund grant and is expected to create an additional 30 new jobs within the business.

Barrier was supported by North Tyneside Council, which helped to source a consultant who assisted with the application.

Subject to securing planning permission, Barrier, which owns the site, plans to start construction this year and begin operations in late spring of 2015.

The new site will feature a 68m x 40m production hall with an attached office suite. The production facility will include four overhead cranes with maximum tandem lift capacity of 40 tonnes.

Already employing in the region of 250 at its existing operation at Willington Quay and on client sites across the UK and abroad, the new facility will provide the company with further room to grow both in terms of size of projects and staff numbers.