Plans have been unveiled to develop a 40-hectare series of low-carbon greenhouses on previously quarried land at Bradwell, to the East of Braintree in Essex.
According to the developers, the Rivenhall Greenhouse complex will utilise waste heat and CO2 through a collaboration with the adjacent Indaver Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) which is currently under construction.
The Rivenhall Greenhouse is expected to provide 420 full-time jobs and 80 part time jobs, along with injecting circa £300 million into the Braintree economy from full-time salaries in the first 20 years of operation. In addition, the construction phase will also inject around £4.14 million into the local hospitality sector.
‘Once operational the greenhouse will provide an annual injection of circa £600,000 into local agriculture supply businesses, whilst producing 28,194 tonnes of tomatoes per year. This would offset 7.1% of UK tomato imports from Southern Spain, Morocco and Holland,’ said Oasthouse Ventures, the company behind the scheme, which has previously built around 28 ha of low carbon greenhouses in East Anglia in partnership with Anglian Water.
As well as the greenhouse, the plans include a vertical farm, producing some 375 tonnes of leafy greens a year in a former RAF hangar. As well as its proximity to the Indaver waste facility and Wren Renewables, the site benefits from high levels of sunlight: according to the development brochure, Braintree receives 1,611 hours of sunshine annually, compared to the Dutch horticultural areas of the ‘Westland’, which receive 1,624 hours annually.
Subject to planning, the first crops could be harvested in 2027. Project Director Ed Moorhouse, explained that the project’s energy model “allows us to enter long-term conversations with retailers… That ability to de-risk energy pricing gives us leverage to discuss longer-term contracts”.
While tomatoes are the initial focus, the site can also switch to cucumbers, peppers, or aubergines, depending on market demand. “The site’s configuration allows us to deploy 13 hectares lit and 27 hectares unlit,” explained Ed. “If a supermarket is more concerned about cucumbers, we can grow 13 hectares of cucumbers or peppers and serve as a one-stop shop for retailers sourcing vine crops.
“[This] submission marks a critical milestone in the development of Rivenhall as a leading UK and European fresh produce growing facility”, he continued. “Key to the project is the ongoing collaboration with Indaver and the development of a new low-carbon horticultural energy model. This will set a new benchmark for UK horticulture, delivering a blueprint for the accelerated reshoring of UK fresh produce production. We look forward to working with Essex County Council in the coming weeks and furthermore to delivering our plans to create local green jobs, whilst reinforcing UK food security and resilience in an increasingly uncertain world.”
However, some local residents and politicians have expressed concerns about the scale of the project and its associated infrastructure.
