A new sustainable food factory has been announced in Derby which will create 4,500 jobs over the next four years. Labelled as a “food campus”, the factory is set to be built on 140 acres of the former Celanese site in Spondon, one of Derby’s biggest derelict factories. The new factory will be operated by SmartParc, a low-carbon food manufacturer, who said it would be an “incubator”, bringing food producers together to use their knowledge and investment to reduce food waste, lowering carbon outputs and increasing UK food security.
The site’s operation will include working with the University of Derby, and feature a shared energy plant along with embracing vertical farming to grow crops indoors. It will also act as a community hub, with a new food innovation centre and skills facility and planned partnerships with local charities, schools and universities to reconnect people with the food they eat. Work is expected to start in early 2021 with the whole project to be completed by 2024.
