Cider tanks put sparkle into town

5:00pm Thursday 7th August 2008

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PLANS to build Western Europe’s largest carbon neutral fruit mill in Herefordshire became reality last Sunday when the first concentration tanks were moved to its Ledbury site under police escort.

Officers supervised a dawn operation to move 11 of the 227,000 litre stainless steel containers, from Bulmers in Hereford to Universal Beverage Limited’s (UBL) new site at the former Ledbury Preserves jam factory, ready for the 2008 apple season.

Starting at 6am, the roof had to be removed from the Bulmers mill and it took four hours to transport the vessels to Little Marcle Lane for installation.

The transfer marks the beginning of ambitious expansion plans from UBL, a sister company to Bulmers started by parent company Scottish and Newcastle before its Heineken takeover.

It is expected to bring 200 extra jobs to the town.

Herefordshire Council approved the plans in May after hearing the plant, which has a 15-year contract with Bulmers, would put the county at the centre of the European drinks industry by processing up to 15,000 tonnes of fruit a week.

Up to 18,000 trees and shrubs will also be planted to reduce the impact of the external storage tanks, which stand at around 27.9 metres tall. Five smaller enzyme reaction tanks were also moved.

UBL managing director David Hepworth said: “It represents an unprecedented level of investment for this area of Herefordshire and is fantastic news for Ledbury.”