S&A Produce is holding its breath as plans over its future lie in the hands of Herefordshire District Council following the deferral of its site proposals.

The company has submitted planning applications for 67 hectares of polytunnels, worker accommodation for 1,000 seasonal staff and a sewage treatment works at its Brierley site and had hoped to hear about the move in a hearing last week.

But the planning applications were deferred to August 7 to allow the Herefordshire District Council’s Main Planning Committee to consider further evidence in the case which could enable S&A to move entirely to highly efficient table-top strawberry growing.

Rebecca Edmonds, PR and planning manager at S&A, told freshinfo: “The legal advisor and head of planning advised the committee to [defer], on the basis that they had just received a letter on behalf of the Arrow Valley residents which made criticisms of the planning report to the committee.

“The council said it needed more time to address the issues raised. Members of the committee therefore voted to defer the applications on the advice they were being given.”

This follows planning approval granted for 36.5 hectares of polytunnels at the company’s site in Marden last month, albeit without the migrant workers’ village that the company had hoped to build to house a maximum of 1,000 people.

Before the decision, Edmonds said: “At a time of recession, when major employers in Herefordshire are making mass redundancies, a successful business like S&A can play an important role, providing stability, jobs and helping to keep the economy afloat.”

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