Residents and councillors in Melbourne have dubbed plans for 23 self-storage shipping containers "a bad case of urban creep".

The plans from MAE Trading would see the shipping containers installed on a former agricultural site in Cockshut Lane on the western edge of the town.

Nine of the shipping containers would be 12 metres long and 14 would be six metres long, with both options measuring 2.4 metres in height and all containers already in place on the site.

The scheme would create 10 new jobs, the applicant details.

Further fencing would be installed and trees would be planted in an aim to obscure the site from view from the roadside.

Melbourne Civic Society has objected to the plans, saying it is a "bad case of urban creep", with a "weak" business case, lack of support for warehousing space in the area and the plot being "quasi Green Belt" – and should be protected.

A total of 26 Melbourne residents wrote objection letters opposing the planned storage units, saying there were more appropriate sites and that the scheme, if approved, risked setting a precedent.

The safety of the access and potential "significant increase" in traffic was also feared, along with the perceived impact on property values.

South Derbyshire District Council planning officials have recommended that the plans are approved at a meeting on Tuesday, February 6.

They wrote in a report for that meeting: "The economic assessment (provided by the applicant) states that the applicant has been approached by both local businesses and private individuals for the rental of storage space. It states that there is one other storage facility within a five-mile radius of the site, Newton Self Storage, which is 1.3 miles distant, and that there is a demand for storage in the area.

"The council's economic development team has also reviewed the economic assessment and confirmed that there is a need for such facilities in the locality.

"It was confirmed that there is a clear need for this type of development, as there is very little business space available in the District and in Melbourne in particular.

"There are a lot of businesses in Melbourne, many of which are smaller enterprises or home based, which would undoubtedly benefit from the provision of storage. 

"It was noted that if businesses can utilise storage offsite, it would likely increase production onsite. 

"The search area of five miles for other storage providers was also acknowledged as reasonable for the locality, with only one other competitor in this radius for businesses to choose from."