JOBS look to have been secured after a thriving wine company was given long-term permission to continue storage and distribution operations from a purpose built warehouse.

JOBS look to have been secured after a thriving wine company was given long-term permission to continue storage and distribution operations from a purpose built warehouse.

It was feared jobs at Clare-based Nethergate Holdings Limited were at risk after council planners recommended they be banned from using the warehouse, which is in a conservation area.

But members of St Edmundsbury planning committee dismissed the recommendations and granted the firm permission to use the warehouse at Eastfield Farm, on the edge of the town, for at least another five years.

The ruling means at least three full time jobs, created by the company's ability to expand since it launched its distribution franchise, will now be safe for the foreseeable future. An administrative post and two-delivery van driving positions also look secure.

Nethergate's, which employs around 18 people and supplies wine restaurants and hotels across the region, has been given temporary permission annually since 1999, to store and distribute goods at the warehouse.

But the company had applied for permanent permission to enable it to make and consider long-term business plans.

But council planners said heavy vehicles using the narrow Harp Lane, which leads to the farm site, are harming nearby amenities and housing. Letters from residents also raised concerns for the safety of nearby children and fears the farmland was being transformed into an industrial site.

Nethergate vice-chairman Dick Burge said: "I am very pleased with the outcome, it gives us a steady basis in which to expand the business from within the buildings we already have.

"It is also good for local economy because the jobs are now secure and we are the largest employer in the town."