PROPOSALS for an online shopping warehouse creating 400 jobs have advanced with the submission of a planning application.
Indigo Planning added that discussions "are advanced" with a prospective tenant for the site, having revealed back in March that the would-be tenant in question was Waitrose.
The distribution centre in the Ullswater Estate would include a 7,210 sq m warehouse, 180 car parking spaces and 180 van parking spaces.
It would employ 500 people, 400 more than currently employed by the site's occupiers, Ricoh and Iron Mountain.
In its plans to the council, a spokesman for Indigo Planning wrote: "The proposal will involve the demolition of units 11-13, 15, 18 and 19 Ullswater Crescent and their replacement with a high-quality, single distribution warehouse intended for the home delivery market. The warehouse will facilitate the delivery of products directly to customers within the local area who have placed orders online."
The proposal claims the warehouse will reduce traffic in the area, adding: "The envisaged 203 deliveries per day will save around 2000 car trips to a supermarket on the wider network."
Waitrose says it has yet to decide whether it wants to move onto the site, but Charles King, chairman of the East Coulsdon Residents' Association, welcomed the prospect.
Indigo Planning added that it expects up to 220 staff on site at peak times, with three shifts per 24 hours.
It claimed ten per cent of the 500 jobs would be management grade.