Brentwood Council’s depot could move to an industrial site recently purchased by the authority - helping free up land for dozens of homes.

Brentwood Borough Council has already spent £59 million on buying Childerditch industrial estate and is now set top invest another £6 million in laying the groundwork to allow its depot to move on to the site close to the M25 and A127.

The newly adopted local plan has allocated 133 new homes across the former Ford Headquarters and council transport depot in Warley.

But that means another depot will have to be set up including space to process road sweeping spoil.

Cllr Chris Hossack, leader of Brentwood Borough Council, said: “At some point in time our depot in Warley will not remain where it is. It is not the right site – you have a brand new residential community being built on the doorstep where Ford was.

“We need to relocate the depot and part of the reason for buying Childerditch is the vacant spot that the depot could be located to.

“That looks like that will be the case.

“In the event it goes to Childerditch we will need to go to a newly constructed site.

“There is a spot that is not earning us anything.

“If we invest in it now we get to the point where we have all the facilities and you can let it while we get to the right moment when we are ready to move the depot.”

The council will be discussing giving the greenlight to invest £6 million for the plan at the same time as its plan for almost £11 million to be invested in refurbishing the Baytree Centre when it meets on Wednesday.