A massive warehouse has been given the go-ahead to handle a new cargo at a Norfolk port.

West Norfolk Council has agreed a lawful development certificate for the building at the Port of King's Lynn.

Associated British Ports plans to construct the 106m long, 44m wide warehouse at the junction of Edward Benefer Way and Estuary Road.

Eastern Daily Press: The site where the new salt warehouse will be builtThe site where the new salt warehouse will be built (Image: Chris Bishop)

A planning statement said: "ABP is proposing to construct and operate an import, handling and distribution facility for animal feed, industrial and food grade salt within the Port of King’s Lynn.

"The warehouse will initially be used for the storage of salt that is imported by vessel to the Port of Kings Lynn.

"ABP will unload the vessels and move the product to the warehouse."

Eastern Daily Press: The Port of King's LynnThe Port of King's Lynn (Image: Chris Bishop)

Salt will be transported to customers inland by tanker lorries, using the existing access off Estuary Road or bagged up for smaller orders.

ABP said the new warehouse will take 40 weeks to build. It will occupy an area greater than a football pitch in size and be 14m high.

It comes after a major investment in the port, which handles around 300 ships a year and 400,000 tonnes of cargo, including bulk grain, aggregates, steel, scrap metal and timber.

Eastern Daily Press: A ship turns off the River Ouse into the Port of King's LynnA ship turns off the River Ouse into the Port of King's Lynn (Image: Chris Bishop)

A new £1.4m timber shed was added three years ago, to help meet booming demand for wood products for DIY projects and home improvements.

ABP says together with its two other East Anglian ports, Lowestoft and Ipswich, it contributes £360m to the UK economy every year.

The Lynn port supports more than 5,000 jobs, ranging from farm workers, hauliers and maltings staff, to builders, roofers and landscapers who use timber imported from Scandinavia and the Baltic.