Salt dome the height of a telegraph pole to be installed next to main road in Rugby

The structure, which will have a green roof, will be visible to those on Rugby’s Western Relief Road as it will tower above existing trees and shrubs around the perimeter of the site in Paynes Lane.

Councillors at this week’s May 26 Warwickshire County Council’s regulatory meeting, which was held remotely, approved the scheme which will also see a number of gritter lorries and snow ploughs stored in a new nine-bay building and a power wash gantry installed to clean the vehicles.

A second building will house an office and mess room.

The site, which has been used as a storage site for road chippings and also for the construction depot during the building of the town’s relief road currently lies empty and overgrown in places.

Planners at Rugby Borough Council had asked for extra landscaping to help screen the salt dome - which will be about the same height as a telegraph pole - from passing motorists but in her presentation to councillors, county planner Sally Panayi said she thought this would not be needed as the existing trees and shrubs were still quite young and would continue to grow.

She also explained that although a willow tree would have to be removed due to the entrance being widened, bird boxes would be put up to compensate for the loss of habitat.

The council’s assistant director for environmental services, Scott Tompkins, added that if plans were approved then it could see gritting activities suspended from another county council depot in Dunchurch.

He said: “The Dunchurch depot is not a great location for gritting activities because it is in a housing area so the middle of the night runs disturb people in that locality. Paynes Lane would be a much better location.”

Councillors voted in favour of the plans with Rugby-based Cllr Jill Simpson-Vince (Con Brownsover and Coton Park) adding: “That whole Paynes Lane area can look a little bit scruffy around the edges and this does look at the moment like a derelict site.

"So getting a proper use for the site so that it has buildings and a proper activity is actually going to be quite a big benefit for that particular area so I’m fully supportive of this.”