UNITED KINGDOM: Work Could Start Soon On Futuristic Derbyshire Food Hub
Planning Application In For Scheme, Which Would Create 5,000 Jobs
BY ZENA HAWLEY
7 JAN 2021
This is how the SmartParc campus would look (Image: Ashtonsmith)
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Food production could be in full swing by the end of the year at a giant new Derbyshire industrial site.
That's if a planning application submitted by SmartParc gets the go-ahead in the near future.
The company has applied to create a 155-acre, hi-tech food manufacturing campus on the former Celanese site at Spondon.
It will provide state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, start-up incubation units, and a potential location for a food manufacturing technology centre of excellence.
The idea is to combine purpose-built food production units and a central distribution facility bringing food producers together on one campus. In the process, it is expected to create up to 5,000 direct jobs.
The company's ambition is to provide a sustainable blueprint for the industry. This will harness the latest developments such as vertical farming and smart technology to improve production and energy efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing competitive advantage for the site's tenants.
Vertical farming is a new development and is where crops are grown indoors in stacked layers, mitigating the vagaries of the weather and eliminating the need for pesticides.
This is an example of vertical farming (Image: SmartParc)
Jackie Wild, SmartParc chief executive, said: "We are delighted to take another step forward in our plans to put Derby at the heart of the UK’s future in sustainable, efficient food manufacturing.