Aylesbury

On 23 September 2011, Aylesbury Vale District Council approved Arla's planning application for a new £150m dairy in Aylesbury, on the outskirts of London.

The dairy would be the first zero carbon milk processing facility in the world which is why, throughout the design stage, the potential impact on the environment of each element of the dairy has been evaluated. Going forward Arla is committed to utilising the best available construction techniques, advanced process technologies and cutting edge renewable energy opportunities.

Throughout the planning process Arla Foods has been in consultation with the parish and town councils, residents and groups listening to and gathering feedback on proposals. This has been taken on board and a large number of solutions to mitigate the effects of the dairy on the community have been incorporated into the masterplan.

Arla UK has an ambitious growth strategy and the announcement of its intention to build a new one-billion litre liquid milk processing facility is directly in line with the company's growth and environmental ambitions, and its long-term strategy of improving performance in standard milk. It also supports its commitment to sustaining British dairy farming as it would process only British milk.

After in-depth consideration of several potential sites, the 70-acre site at Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, emerged as the clear front runner due to its ability to provide the best overall logistics solution to service Arla’s customers when taking into account both the collection of raw milk from farms and delivering the finished product to the retailers. It also gives Arla the best access to the growing south eastern consumer base.

The dairy would create almost 700 skilled jobs and Aylesbury can provide access to the strong local workforce required.