CRANSWICK is preparing plans for a major new poultry processing facility at Europarc, Grimsby, with the site capable of handling up to approximately 1.75 million birds per week at peak capacity.
The scheme is detailed in an Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Request submitted to North East Lincolnshire Council by Quod Environmental Planning on behalf of the applicants. The document states that the companies intend to submit a full planning application for the construction and operation of the facility on land to the west of Europarc.
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According to the filing, the proposed development would occupy a 12.1 hectare, or 30-acre, agricultural site at the western extent of the established Europarc business park, north of the A180 and around 2.5km north-west of Grimsby town centre. The site sits within the wider South Humber Gateway and within an area allocated for employment development, specifically including food processing.
The facility would comprise a poultry processing building of around 25,000 sq m gross external area, with integrated plant, equipment, offices and staff facilities. Supporting infrastructure would include effluent balancing, water storage, wastewater conveyance infrastructure, loading bays, yard areas, HGV circulation routes, fuel storage, utilities, surface water drainage, landscaping and site access arrangements.
According to the screening request, the plant would operate on a “continuous or semi-continuous basis”, with processing, dispatch, hygiene and supporting functions running across extended periods, including night-time activity. Operational activities would include the receipt of live poultry, slaughter and processing, chilling, packing and dispatch, alongside refrigeration, waste handling, effluent storage, staff facilities, servicing and vehicle movements.
The document says the facility could process up to approximately 1.75 million birds per week, although it stresses this represents a theoretical maximum capacity including peak periods, rather than a typical average operating scenario.
The screening request says the development would support a total maximum workforce of up to approximately 1,400 employees across all shifts and functions. Around 500-plus staff parking spaces are shown in the indicative layout, with the document suggesting the number of employees on site at any one time would be materially lower than the overall workforce figure, likely around 500 to 700 people.
The applicants argue that the project should not require a full Environmental Impact Assessment. The document says the development falls within Schedule 2 of the EIA Regulations because of its scale and nature, including industrial estate development, food industry activity and potentially installations for the slaughter of animals. However, it concludes that the proposed plant is unlikely to give rise to significant environmental effects, either alone or cumulatively with other developments.
Environmental issues assessed in the screening request include traffic, noise, odour, air quality, drainage, flood risk, ecology, lighting, waste, water use, landscape impact, soils, archaeology and climate change.
Construction is expected to take around two years, subject to planning permission.
Sector impact
For the poultry sector, the proposal points to a potentially significant addition to UK processing infrastructure. At the stated theoretical peak capacity of 1.75 million birds a week, the Grimsby facility would require substantial live bird supply, cold-chain logistics, wastewater handling, by-product management and labour resourcing.
Europarc is described in the document as an established food manufacturing and processing hub, already accommodating major operators including 2 Sisters Food Group, Morrisons and Hain Daniels.
