S&A Produce is facing a logistical nightmare after local authorities approved its plans to develop a large area of polytunnels, but rejected proposals to build a sister complex to house its migrant workers.

The company has submitted two Whole Farm Applications for its two sites in Herefordshire - the first of which in Marden was approved in part by The Central Area Planning Committee of Herefordshire District Council.

The plans will see 36.5 hectares of new polytunnels erected at Brooke Farm, Marden. However, the company had hoped to house seasonal migrant workers in an on-site housing complex featuring sports facilities, a limited-opening-hours bar and an internet café, but fears over the impact on the local community led the council to reject the plans by a narrow majority.

S&A hoped that the migrant workers’ village would house a maximum of 1,000 people. Similar planning permission for its Brierley site will be decided upon on July 1.

The proposals are part of a wider plan by S&A to consolidate its polytunnels and reduce its impact upon local people and the environment by moving a reducing the size of its operations. S&A hopes to reduce the area covered by polytunnels in Herefordshire by 45 per cent to 170ha.

S&A has been working to identify the most suitable place to house its workers, including looking at accommodation options within nearby towns, but concluded suitable properties were not available, thus forcing staff to live away from the company’s operations and increasing local traffic and creating welfare issues.

Rebecca Edmonds, PR and planning manager at S&A, told freshinfo: “Herefordshire has a real lack of suitable locations for housing. The councillors had concerns about the scale of the accommodation in terms of the number of people in a village context but the impact would be far less than these numbers suggest.

“We only had 20 applications when we advertised for work locally so we have to use migrant workers - how else do you get the labour in a labour-intensive market when you can’t even fill these jobs in a recession?

“It is highly debatable that the rural services in the area - such as post offices and shops - could continue without the increased footfall of the rural workers. We thought we had struck the right balance in terms of numbers, as we had a similar application turned down around three years ago, and we are very sensitive to the local environment so obviously we are very disappointed.

“We designed our landscaping plans to take full account of the footpaths and bridleways, and have incorporated mitigation measures to try and ensure that the interference with the enjoyment of these paths is minimised.”

Edmonds allayed fears from the Ramblers Association and Byways and Bridleways Trust that the polytunnels could ruin walkers' enjoyment of the countryside: “There were no concerns from the council on this front and we have made efforts to position them in areas where they do not affect tourism in that sense.

“Overall in the county of Herefordshire, while the number of polytunnels has proliferated in recent years, the amount of money generated from tourism has actually increased.”