BOOTHS Park’s owner has been given the green light to expand – with a new shuttle bus part of the deal.

Cheshire East Council has given Bruntwood the go-ahead to build ‘Booths Park Six’ at the Booths Hall estate, in Knutsford.

The new unit is set to house PortSwigger – a web security firm, currently based in Bexton Road, which is looking to increase its workforce from 50 to 200 over the next few years.

In a statement released when the plans were first submitted to CEC, Dafydd Stuttard, chief executive of PortSwigger, said: “Knutsford is our home and our preference is to stay here.

“The new development at Booths Park will establish Knutsford as a centre of technical excellence in the north west region, and lead to a large number of high-value jobs, including software engineers, researchers, technical product specialists and journalists.”

A key part of the plans is the introduction of a new shuttle bus between Booths Park, Knutsford train station and the town centre.

Bruntwood had intended to launch the service once the new building is fully occupied, but Knutsford Town Council and the Knutsford Community Groups called for the service to be brought forward.

CEC officers also wanted to bring the launch forwards – and as a compromise, the council says it has agreed with Bruntwood that the shuttle bus will launch once 150 staff are employed at the new building.

In a report published on CEC’s planning website, officers said: “It is important that workers in this office building have the ability to use sustainable modes [of transport].

“Following further discussions it has been agreed that the trigger point for the implementation of the bus service should be 150 staff.”

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The new 6,566sq m building will also include parking spaces for 197 cars – including three electric vehicle charging points – plus storage for 36 bicycles.