GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is preparing to submit a planning application to Adur & Worthing Councils for a state-of-the art pharmaceutical plant which will secure hundreds of jobs if it is approved. The plan is to replace their existing production facility at the GSK Worthing site on Southdownview Way. The build would take around two years, creating around 300 temporary construction jobs on-site.
The current facility has been operational since the 1960’s and the proposed investment of some £100 million would help consolidate the role of the GSK site in Worthing and maintain its importance in the UK’s manufacture of pharmaceuticals. 950 skilled workers are already employed at the Worthing site and if GSK had opted to build the new facility elsewhere jobs would have been lost.
If approved, the development will enable the increased production of Augmentin, a leading antibiotic medicine, for export to 150 countries around the World. Following two recent public consultations at the GSK site, the company will submit the planning application during February 2014.