Derby City Council’s Cabinet is being asked to agree a package of support, worth up to £17.5 million, to enable the development of a new food production campus, which could bring 5,000 jobs to Derby.
SmartParc wants to create the innovative £300m food manufacturing and distribution park on the former Celanese site, near the city centre. The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership has already allocated a provisional £12m towards the project from the Government’s Getting Building Fund.
Now, members of Derby City Council’s Cabinet are being recommended to present a full business case to the LEP to secure that funding and to agree to provide up to £5.5m in direct support from the authority.
SmartParc wants to bring food producers together to cluster knowledge and investment – reducing food waste, lowering carbon outputs, and increasing UK food security. The campus would include a shared power plant, using renewable sources and designed to reduce energy consumption, and would harness the latest technology, such as vertical farming, to improve production and efficiency.
A central distribution facility will allow manufacturers to consolidate both raw materials and finished goods to lower food miles.
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