400 jobs to be created at Shrewsbury food site
More than 400 jobs are to be created by food giant ABP, with a £20 million investment at its operation in Shrewsbury.
The redevelopment of its site in Harlescott is the company's latest vote of confidence in Shropshire.
Last year ABP completed a £30 million overhaul of its site at Hordley near Ellesmere.
ABP is already one of the biggest private sector employers in Shropshire, with 732 staff at the Battlefield Enterprise Park in Shrewsbury and more than 725 at Ellesmere. The new additions would take its total workforce to almost 1,900 in Shropshire.
ABP said there will also be a significant number of construction jobs generated during the project.
Its county operations supply beef to major customers across the country, with Sainsbury's a key contract for the company.
The latest proposal is for a new retail meat packing building that ABP said will improve the existing Shrewsbury plant.
The new building will also include a dry goods store, employee amenities, canteen facilities and administration and staff offices.
But director Seamus Banim sounded one note of caution over the impact of Brexit on farmers in the UK.
"The vast majority of cattle coming to ABP Shrewsbury is sourced from farms within a 50-mile radius and it is our hope that this supply of quality British cattle will not be impacted in a post Brexit non CAP era," he said.
A planning application for the development is expected to be made public in the next few days.
Councillor Malcolm Price, Shropshire Council's portfolio holder for housing, said: "The comments we have received so far have mostly been positive. When it is completed it will be one of the most modern and efficient packing plants in Europe. All the equipment will be brand new, state-of-the-art.
"The good thing about the company is all the meat that goes into the site comes from within 50 miles of Shrewsbury.
"This is a major investment for Shropshire. It is significant employment and economic investment.
"In 15 years of being a councillor I have never heard a complaint against ABP. They are a very professional and well-run company. They have a great reputation."
