Source Smithy Mushrooms Ltd
At the date of instruction, the site extended to 14.95 acres (6.05ha), all located within the Green Belt, as defined within the West Lancashire Local Plan 2012-2027 (2013). The development is agricultural and is appropriate development in the Green Belt.
Smithy Mushrooms are the leading grower of fresh UK grown exotic mushrooms in the UK for over 30 years, supplying large retailers such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Booths and the food service market across the UK and are important local employers in West Lancashire.
On behalf of Smithy Mushrooms, Acland Bracewell are delighted that full planning permission has been granted for the construction of an exotic mushroom farm at Bungalow Farm, Scarisbrick.
The development involves applying technology that is new to the UK and over £10 million investment into local agriculture to produce a vastly more productive precision farming enterprise with the creation of a substantial number of jobs, increased biodiversity, the reduce imports and in turn reduce the carbon footprint, resulting in a more sustainable business model.
The planning permission will allow Smithy Mushrooms to significantly increase UK production of exotic mushrooms, in order to meet demand, which is growing rapidly.
Acland Bracewell’s instructions were to provide strategic advice, full project management from conception to design finalisation and to submit a full planning application of a 16,900m2 purpose-built farm development, car parking, hardstanding and sustainable drainage strategy.
Significant technical and master-planning work was undertaken by a range of technical consultants, including architect, drainage, landscaping, highways, noise, ecology and lighting to ensure that the development is sustainable and deliverable, at the planning application stage, and to reduce pre-commencement conditions in order to meet client time frames for delivery of the project.
Acland Bracewell provided tailored advice on community engagement and utilising their knowledge on the specialist agricultural food production sector and achieved a full planning permission for a significant purpose-built agricultural development in the West Lancashire Green Belt.
Donald Webb, Director at Brookdale Consulting commented that “Covid-19 is putting extreme pressure on the UK’s food system and climate change commitments to net zero is providing a challenge to maintain or increase output wile reducing emissions. This dynamic situation means that agricultural production cannot stand still. It has to innovate, invest in technology and vastly improve rural productivity to support sustainable growth and this is exactly what Smithy Mushrooms is proposing”.
