MH Poskitt, a specialist grower of root vegetables for leading supermarkets, appointed Carter Jonas to advise on the potential of an Anaerobic Digestion facility, running on vegetable off-cuts and farm grown maize silage.

MH Poskitt is a family-owned farming business near Selby in Yorkshire. The farm has been in the same family for three generations and has grown considerably with the introduction of their own onsite production facility and vegetable pack house, used to prepare and process their own crops. Whilst this began as a small operation, with carrots being washed in a farm shed, the business today is capable of washing and packing over 300 tonnes per day of vegetables. The business is growing for supermarkets, food service, retail and industry.

Carter Jonas were initially asked to advise the business on the potential of an Anaerobic Digestion facility running on vegetable off-cuts and farm grown maize silage. This included undertaking a screening study and liaising with potential technology providers and technical consultants.

Once a feasible scheme was identified and the final scheme details were agreed, we completed a full planning application for the development, which included production of photomontages, vehicle movement details, feedstock analysis and full scheme details.

Throughout the planning process Carter Jonas closely liaised with the planning officer to quickly address concerns raised by local residents and the parish council. Timescales for the scheme were tight as the plant needed to be permitted before a reduction in available incentives occurred, and also in time to enable the construction of silage clamps to store the first crop of maize.

The plant was subsequently permitted by delegated decision, with minimal conditions imposed. This enabled the business to preliminary accredit and commence construction to achieve the higher incentive rate.