A thriving shopping village has been given the go-ahead to expand - and the growth could bring hundreds of new jobs to Braintree.

The expansion at the Freeport Outlet Village includes a £20 million leisure complex with a 12-screen cinema, bowling alley, swimming pool and family entertainment centre. This alone could bring up to 200 jobs.

The proposals were given the green light at a meeting of Braintree Council's area planning committee last night (Tuesday).

To allow for the extension the council had to agree to change the original planning permission, which restricted the amount of space Freeport could use for retail purposes.

It means the factory village will get an extra 2,312 square metres of floorspace.

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