Swindon Council will be looking at the planning application for the proposed B&Q distribution centre at South Marston which will provide more than 500 jobs in a £77.4m deal.

The centre will be the biggest building in the town – the size of 20 football pitches – and it will be built on the triangle between Highworth Road and Kingsdown Road off the A361 in an area which is known as Gazeley G-Park.

Coun Garry Perkins, the council’s deputy leader said: “The B&Q distribution centre would be a massive boost for jobs and add to Swindon’s portfolio of household names.

“It’s a real boost in confidence in Swindon’s ability to bounce back from the recession.

“The planning application is being considered by the council later this month and, if successful, we look forward to working with the B&Q team to maximise this opportunity for Swindon.”

There is outline planning permission for industrial use on the land and the new centre should be up and running in just over a year and will be fully operational by January 2012. The current B&Q centre at Groundwell will be closed and the 125 staff employed there will be offered jobs at the new centre when it is hoped they will be transferred over.

B&Q decided to look at its distribution across the country following a review and it made sense to have a new regional centre in the south for high volume products.

This will improve customer service as well as reducing transport miles, transport costs and CO2 emissions.

The new centre will also include key environmental initiatives.