Neath Port Talbot Council has agreed terms to purchase the 55 acre site of the former Metal Box factory in Neath to establish a new employment site with significant job creation potential.

The Milland Road site was occupied for more than 70 years by the former Metal Box container factory known locally as “The Box” but is now vacant after the previous occupiers, the Crown packaging company, closed last year.

At a Regeneration and Sustainable Development Board on the 8th December Councillors approved the purchase of the site.

Located within an important employment zone in Neath the site has been marketed as a commercial opportunity.

Purchasing the property will provide the council with a unique opportunity to protect and retain a strategically important employment site in Neath capable of delivering significant investment, floor space and job creation.

Neath will play a key role as a Strategic Hub in the delivery of the Welsh Government’s ‘Our Valleys, Our Future’ plan, launched last month. The plan aims to close the employment gap between the South Wales Valleys and the rest of Wales, creating new and sustainable jobs.

Purchasing the former Metal Box site will encourage inward investment and with enough space to house a wide variety of businesses and enterprises it will also enable local companies to expand and invest in accommodation not usually available within the county borough.

Councillor Rob Jones, Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council said: