£6.5 million abattoir plan unveiled in Gloucestershire
A £6.5 million state-of-the-art abattoir and meat processing and packaging plant is to be opened in the Forest of Dean creating 20 new jobs.
Family firm Ensors is to close its two existing premises in Cinderford's Valley Road and move to a new site on a nearby industrial park in Forest Vale Road.
The huge expansion is being made possible by a £1.9 million grant from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), financial investment by the company and the sale of the existing sites.
The project, which is due for completion by the end of this year, will give Ensors the opportunity to modernise its systems. It will open up new business markets, including an export division, and creating around 20 full-time jobs over the next three years.
The new plant will help the company reduce its environmental impact through better energy use, increased water recovery and fewer food miles. It will also provide new facilities for hundreds of farmers, independent producers, wholesalers and customers in the retail sector locally, regionally and nationally.
Ensors processes around 76,000 livestock each year. It is a leading slaughterer of organically produced animals and rare breed animals in the South West.
The company also manufactures bacon, sausages, burgers, kebabs and other premium products. Customers include prestigious stores and hotels in London, hospitality services at major sporting venues and premiership football clubs and Prince Charles' Highgrove Estate.
The company supplies a range of products to leading brands within the convenience retail market, such as Spar and Nisa. It also supplies its own butcher's shop in Cinderford. Last month, it began to supply meat to award-winning premium on-line supermarket Ocado which is to open a new distribution centre in March to serve customers in the South West and Wales.
The expansion will mean Ensors can provide a service for farmers selling meat direct and for regional and local farmer-owned marketing initiatives
"We are delighted that the expansion is going ahead as it means we can not only increase our capacity but offer more services for existing as well as new customers," said Steve Leyman, managing director of Ensors.
"We know that traceability of food is important for our customers and to consumers and it's important for us too. The RDPE grant and the sale of our existing abattoir site will mean we can invest in the business and the services we provide not just for now but for the future too."
The development is being welcomed by Andy Rumming, RDPE manager at the South West Regional Development Agency which, with the Forestry Commission and Natural England, delivers the RDPE South West.
"The livestock sector is very important for the South West as it's worth around £2 billion to the region at the farm gate so that's a significant contribution to the local economy.
"This expansion will mean benefits for both Ensors, individual producers and the South West region. It will also contribute to the region's food and drink sector so it's very exciting."
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