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More than 100 jobs could be at risk after British Sugar announced plans to shut one of its four factories.
The firm is proposing closing its facility at Cantley in the Norfolk Broads to “improve efficiency and support the long-term future” of the UK sugar industry.
The Norfolk site was the first sugar-processing factory to open in the UK and has been in operation for more than a century but it could close from the end of February 2027.
Jerome Mayhew, Conservative MP for Broadland and Fakenham, called the news “devastating” and said it could have wider cost implications for Norfolk farmers.
A consultation will be held over the proposals, which would concentrate British Sugar’s beet processing operations at Wissington in west Norfolk, Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk and Newark in Nottinghamshire.
Keith Packer, managing director at British Sugar, said: “This proposal has not been taken lightly. It follows a thorough review of the business and reflects a combination of external pressures, including low average European sugar prices, high energy costs and a market-wide, long-term gradual decline in volumes over time.”
Mayhew said the closure could mean higher haulage costs for farmers to reach the next nearest processing facility and warned it would have a “wider economic hit” for secondary businesses which support the processing at Cantley.
The factory was opened in 1912. Today, it produces an average of 130,000 tonnes of sugar every year. Last year the site underwent an £11m (USD14.7m)upgrade to improve its energy efficiency. Cantley will continue to operate as normal this year before the future of the site is decided.
More details: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dnq6v5pvgo