MULTI-MILLION plans to expand Braintree Freeport and create up to 100 jobs have been unveiled.

Five national brands have been earmarked to occupy a 90,000 sq ft new retail park, which would be built north of the existing shopping village.

Realm, the property manager of Freeport Braintree, will present the draft plans at public exhibitions on October 5 and 8.

Currently Freeport occupies around 220,000 sq ft of retail space, meaning the massive new buildings would be a 40 per cent expansion for the retail outlet.

Realm expects the new development will provide between 50 and 100 jobs for the local area, in both full-time and part-time capacities.

The proposed site is partially empty and partly used as car parking for Freeport and had been earmarked as part of the draft Local Plan for employment or retail use.

The developer will be listening to residents’ comments before drawing up plans to be submitted to Braintree Council for approval.

Once submitted, and if the planning application is approved, the new shops could be open by summer 2018.

Additional parking will also be provided as part of the proposals along with planned improvements to the transport network to reduce congestion in the area.

Customers will also be able to take advantage of the free shuttle bus which currently runs every 20 minutes from Braintree town centre.

Jack Kellard, development manager at Realm, said: “Building on the success of Freeport Braintree and the amount of interest from potential tenants, we are proposing five new retail units in a new retail park adjacent to the outlet village.

“This will provide additional choice to shoppers in Braintree as well as create important new jobs locally, boosting Braintree’s economy.

“We look forward to discussing the plans with local residents and customers in October and using feedback to make the proposals even stronger.”

The first public exhibition takes place on October 5 at Freeport by the tourist information centre between noon and 5pm.

A second will take place on October 8 at Braintree Town Hall on Market Square between 10am and 3pm.

Following the consultation, any feedback will be considered before a planning application is submitted to Braintree Council.