The world’s largest zero carbon dairy has been given the go ahead by the Aylesbury Vale District Council’s (AVDC) planning authority, generating 700 new jobs for the area.
The committee was unanimous in its decision to support the officers’ recommendation to approve the application subject to completion of the Section 106.
This windfall £150 million inward investment is rare in today’s economic climate. Danish dairy cooperative, Arla Foods, has committed to 100 per cent privately fund the project, creating a dairy which can process and package up to 1.3bn litres of fresh milk per year. The scheme is set to deliver a £20m annual wages bill to bolster the Buckinghamshire economy.
Peter Lauritzen, CEO of Arla Foods UK plc, said: “This will be a state-of-the-art dairy designed to help Arla achieve its growth ambitions in the UK. In addition to being one of the largest construction projects in the UK, our flagship building will also be the world’s first zero carbon dairy.”
The project will stimulate the Buckinghamshire economy in a very challenging recessionary market. It will also deliver a welcome boost to the UK construction market by creating up to 1,000 construction jobs over the next 18 months.
Stuart Jones, chief executive of Buckinghamshire Business First, said: “This is fantastic news for the area and a much needed boost for the local economy. In addition to creating many skilled, permanent jobs, which is vital to secure and build the county’s future economic viability and sustainability, the Arla Foods development will also generate global confidence in Buckinghamshire as a business destination.”
Arla Foods has also submitted three additional outline applications on the 35 hectare site to the east of Aylesbury. These will deliver serviced commercial plot sizes not currently available in the area, creating an ancillary and supporting business park helping to attract further inward investment and create an additional 1,000 jobs.
Arla Foods intends to liaise with its suppliers to seek to attract them to invest on the site, creating a food manufacturing hub and helping to reduce the food miles associated with the dairy.
The matter now lies with the Secretary of State for a final decision regarding a potential call-in of the applications. Arla Foods’ has committed the funding this financial year and aims to make this significant investment into the UK economy as soon as possible, creating up to 1,000 construction jobs, with the aim of the dairy being operational towards the end of 2012.