[Sativa]

A company that controversially planned to build the world's biggest hemp processing factory near Thetford has now decided on a £3.6m site in a north Suffolk market town.

Hemcore, the UK's only commercial hemp processing company, are going to build a new factory in Halesworth which will process 50,000 tonnes of hemp straw every year.

The facility will employ 35 people to make the straw, which is mainly used as an eco-friendly form of insulation and is billed as the “green” building material of the future.

The new plant is to be installed in an existing building at the Halesworth Business Centre on Norwich Road in January and will be working at full capacity by 2012.

Hemcore applied to build a processing plant in Roudham in 2006 and although the factory plans were accepted, proposals to use nearby barns for storage were refused.

In spite of opposition from local residents, Hemcore appealed against the refusal and a spokesman for Breckland District Council said that no final decision has yet been made by the planning inspectorate.

But Mike Duckett, managing director of Hemcore, confirmed that the company are moving to Halesworth because the costs of getting power to the Roudham site have escalated.

He said that the company wanted to stay in East Anglia to ensure their factory was close to the majority of hemp growers.

“Our new facility is great news for the environment and for the region's farmers, more and more of whom are already reaping the benefits of growing hemp.”

“This is also an area where the growing base is expected to expand rapidly as the demand for hemp products continues to increase,” he said.

Currently, 4,500 tonnes of hemp are processed at Hemcore's existing facility in Maldon, Essex. This will be closed down when the new factory becomes operational.

Environment minister Phil Woolas, said: “This new investment in Suffolk will provide many benefits - for local jobs, the economy, and for those farmers who will have the opportunity to help meet increased demand for this crop.

“It also gives a clear signal that the UK is serious about developing the bio-economy because of the many benefits it can provide - including reducing greenhouse gases, cutting waste and pollution and helping bio-diversity.”



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Source: Thetford and Brandon Times
Contact: The Thetford & Brandon Times
Copyright: 2006 Archant Regional
Website: Hemp Firm Looks Elsewhere