PLANS for a self-storage depot in Newport have been given the green light by the local authority’s planning committee.

The facility will be built on vacant land south east of Coverack Road and will be able to store up to 104 green steel containers.

A council report said the former industrial area had become overgrown and subject to fly-tipping.

Access to the unmanned depot will be permitted through a pin system, with users only able to enter the site between 7.30am and 9pm.

An agent for the applicants Pink Storage told councillors that they expect an average of one to two car visits per hour, or eight visits at peak times.

The firm also expect up to 70 per cent of the storage units to be used by residents, with the remainder used for commercial purposes.

But Victoria ward councillor Abdul-Majid Rahman argued that the scheme would attract more commercial customers than residential.

“These are shipping containers. I don’t know how much junk you’ve got, but I don’t need a shipping container to fill that up,” said Cllr Rahman.

Cllr Rahman also said the facility would harm the character of the area and raised concerns about further traffic pressure on Coverack Road.

Minor changes will be made to the road markings on the Corporation Road box junction but Cllr Rahman said “lines won’t resolve the traffic issues”.

Councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi asked for trees to be planted on the northern boundary of the site to screen the depot from houses in Feering Street.

A natural planted boundary was accepted as part of the application, with security fencing surrounding the entire site.

An existing pylon was also seen by council officers to offer a “good-sized” buffer between the properties and the storage facility.

Councillor Yvonne Forsey said: “It seems to me that the site is very densely packed with these containers. Also there is the noise of opening and closing these containers.”

But planning officer Geraint Roberts told the committee that noise generation would be similar to the opening and closing of car doors in a residential area.

The committee voted four in favour, two against and one abstention.