Herefordshire soft-fruit grower S&A Produce has submitted proposals for scaled-back workers’ accommodation at Brook Farm, Marden.

The application was registered by Herefordshire County Council last week for a reduced amount of seasonal workers’ provision.

S&A has been reviewing its business over the past 12 months and is reducing its operations in Herefordshire, which will have less of an impact both on the local population and the environment.

The proposals now in the hands of the council include a reduction in accommodation capacity from provision for 1,000 people to provision for 852 people. All future accommodation will be caravans and dormitories.

S&A is confident that these changes will represent an improvement to existing facilities and address local community concerns raised with regard to the company’s previous planning application.

The company has recently received planning approval for its operations at Brierley and for polytunnels at Marden, and believes consent for this accommodation application is the final element it needs to secure a stable and sustainable future.

Frank Green, S&A md, said: “This is an important application for us. Seasonal workers are a vital part of our business, and if we are bringing people to work on our farms we have to be able to provide good-quality accommodation.

“We have worked hard to identify the most suitable places to house our workers, including looking at accommodation options within nearby towns. However, suitable properties do not exist within a reasonable distance of S&A’s sites and having staff living away from the company’s operations would increase traffic coming to and from the site and reduce our ability to provide support for our employees’ welfare.”

Green added that the application takes into account feedback received from the county council’s planning committee in May.

A planning decision should come at the next committee meeting early next year. S&A is hopeful that this will allow construction of the accommodation in time for the 2010 soft-fruit season.

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