Latest news with #CorkersCrisps
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Corkers Crisps rebuild stopped by planning condition, says owner
A crisp manufacturer said he could not rebuild his business after a devastating fire due to a planning "obstacle".Ross Taylor runs family-firm Corkers Crisps, based at Willow Farm in Pymoor, Ely, Cambridgeshire, whose factory burned down in to rebuild have been approved nearly five years after submission, but with the condition that the factory can only use crops grown at Willow Farm, owned by Mr argued this would make the business unviable, but East Cambridgeshire District Council said this was a similar condition to that in the factory's original planning permissions. The gourmet crisp business was founded in 2010 to diversify the farm's income and grew to employ 100 people and turn over £10m a to restart the business, Mr Taylor submitted a planning he said the approved plan limited the firm to using potatoes grown on just 20 acres (eight hectares), yielding about 70 tonnes, enough for two days of production."We wouldn't be able to buy from other local farmers or import from elsewhere," he Taylor added that this felt like a "vendetta" and that the council was "trying to put obstacles in the way". The council previously accused the company of breaching planning rules by using imported also accused it of depositing waste at the site, a claim Mr Taylor disputed, saying these items were building materials that were later moved."I always thought we would be [back] up and running within two years," Mr Taylor said."We have been through seven planning officers, dozens of changes of legislation which has held things up, and we feel like we have been put to the back of the pile and no-one's really wanted us to have it back."He added: "They do not want any rural agricultural developments; they want everything up on the industrial estate and that's as far as it goes. "Us poor old farmers who are trying to make a living can't afford to have businesses up on industrial estates because we are committed to our farms." Mr Taylor warned the decision could "finish" the business and hurt local farmers struggling to sell their crops. He said this was produce that could have been used by the factory. Local farmer Dale Parson said he had been forced to store his potatoes for a year in the hope of finding a buyer, paying up to £1,000 a month in electricity he had to send them for anaerobic digestion."It's a job to get out the house sometimes in the morning. This is one of the loneliest jobs," he said."You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. "If [crops] get diseases in a field, that you can stomach because you can put it down to something, but when you have grown product in good condition, it's heart-breaking." The council said Corkers Crisps had stated one of its "key selling points" was "the unique flavour" from potatoes grown in soil surrounding the added on-site growing also reduced traffic through local villages and the condition that only farm-grown produce be used was similar to a 2013 clause in its planning permission supporting farm diversification.A spokesperson said importing goods would count as a change of use and would need a change-of-use application to assess the potential effects. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Corkers Crisps factory near Ely to be rebuilt after fire damage
A crisp factory destroyed by a fire in 2020 will be rebuilt after plans were approved by Taylor, who owns the Corkers Crisps site in Pymoor, near Ely, said it was a "tragic day" when he lost the family business five years the factory would reinstate 120 jobs, a meeting of East Cambridgeshire District Council's planning committee was councillor Lucius Vellacott said the restoration would create a "huge employment benefit" for the area. The gourmet crisp business once turned over £10m a year at the family's potato Taylor founded it in 2010 and previously told the BBC it "went up in minutes" when the blaze broke out in May 2020. Speaking at the planning meeting on Wednesday, Mr Taylor said: "We supported a lot of jobs over the years and brought a lot of young people into jobs and trained them."It has been a big journey for us as a family to lose our family farm. "We were so proud of this business, it was such a big loss to the area."One person raised concerns at the meeting about emissions from the factory when it Mr Taylor said only condensation was emitted previously and this would be managed by a steam insisted the factory "basically won't emit any fumes at all". Alan Sharp, a Conservative councillor, praised Mr Taylor for his resilience in light of what was a "very sad situation".He questioned why an increase of car parking spaces was included in the plan, but was told this was to allow for "a better designed layout".Councillors unanimously approved the plans when it was put to a vote. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
