Vertical farming company GrowUp Farms has been granted permission by Dover District Council to expand its Pepperness site at Discovery Park near Sandwich.
The expansion will increase the height of the current farm from 18.9 metres to 24.87 metres to accommodate more growing chambers, which will help increase output by 40%. Other developments include a new chiller building with loading bays, new plant building, parking spaces for 30 cars and three HGV vehicles and provision of 27 ground level cooler units.
Tom Ehrman, Engineering Director at GrowUp Farms, commented, “I am delighted to report that planning consent has been granted for the extension of our Pepperness farm. This allows us to quadruple farm output while doubling the number of full-time farm employees from 30 to 60.”
Earlier this year the company launched its branded Fresh Leaf Co. salad product in Iceland stores across the country, and last week celebrated it’s tenth birthday.
Co-founder and Chief Brand Officer Kate Hofman added, “It’s been a busy 10 months since we launched GrowUp Farms at Discovery Park with the GrowUp Farms team working round the clock to help us achieve our goal of being the first vertical farm to launch a branded salad into a major supermarket chain.
“The UK relies on importing 67% of the salad we eat each year, and over 90% in the winter. Our farm at Pepperness is going to play a key role, alongside traditional farming, in helping the UK end its over-reliance on imports, and getting this planning permission is going to go a long way in helping us to achieve that goal.
“Discovery Park is the perfect location for our farm, and we are thrilled to be able to be part of the really supportive business community there as well as being an employer of local people.”
