A new sustainable energy unit is planned at one of Herefordshire’s largest employers.

The project has been put forward by Dalkia, part of the EDF Energy group, which is based at the Avara Foods poultry processing plant at Grandstand Road, Hereford.

It is seeking a certificate of lawfulness for the proposal, which it says can be built under so-called permitted development rights without the need for full planning permission.

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With high-efficiency replacement boilers, the planned unit is intended to deliver sustainable heat and chilling to the factory.

It will be housed in an extension to an existing building and will consist of two heat pumps, three cooling fan blocks, two gas-fired steam boilers and two water storage tanks.

With two chimneys “no more than 15m metres” in height, this new addition “will be coloured to blend in well with the existing structures and will not protrude beyond the vertical or horizontal extents of the existing main structures”, a statement with the application says.

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“This will increase the sustainability of the plant’s operation by saving money, reducing CO2 emissions, and giving energy security to this large employer.”

The background noise already at the plant, which operates 24-seven, along with that from the surrounding industrial area, “should be considered as context to the proposed development”, it adds.

The application, on which comments are not being accepted, is due to be decided by September 14.