Plans for £150m Essex greenhouse complex submitted to local council

Plans for a £150m greenhouse complex in Essex have just been submitted to the local authority.

The 100-acre development from Rivenhall Greenhouse will be capable of producing 30,000 tonnes of tomatoes per year, equating to circa 7.5% of current imports, or about 6% of domestic consumption.

The site could also grow a combination of other vine crops including cucumbers, peppers, chillies or aubergines, which are all predominantly sourced from southern Spain and north Africa, areas increasingly on the frontline of climate change, extremes of weather and energy insecurity.

The accompanying vertical farming facility, built inside a hangar at RAF Rivenhall, will also produce an additional 375 tonnes of lettuce, or 54% of Essex’s annual consumption.

“Today’s submission marks a critical milestone in the development of Rivenhall as a leading UK and European fresh produce growing facility,” said Ed Moorhouse, project director of Rivenhall Greenhouse.

The Rivenhall greenhouse is being developed alongside the Indaver Integrated Waste Management Facility, with the latter providing heat, carbon dioxide and electricity to the greenhouses, to ensure that an “optimum growing environment can be maintained for the year-round production of fresh produce”.

The companies said the collaboration was a new operating model for the UK horticultural industry in a move away from hydrocarbon dependency to a model utilising sustainable heat, captured CO2 and on-site generated electricity.

“Key to the project is the ongoing collaboration with Indaver and the development of a new low-carbon horticultural energy model,” said Moorhouse. “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.”

Read more: Vertical farming isn’t dead, it’s just evolving

Indaver has recently submitted planning permission for a carbon capture usage and storage facility to supply the greenhouses with circa 20,000 tonnes of recycled clean CO2 per year.

“We believe our project represents a forward-thinking approach to energy efficiency and sustainability and it represents a significant step in our commitment to reducing carbon emissions and supporting the transition to the circular economy,” said Indaver commercial and business development director, Micheál Geary.

The new site will also provide approximately 420 full-time roles once the greenhouses are fully operational, with an expected 80 additional seasonal staff and over 300 indirect jobs within the wider supply chain.

The development also includes a biodiversity net gain strategy that will deliver wetlands, flower meadows and tree planting, alongside additional footpaths and bridleways.

Pending due planning process, financing and construction, the site could be operational by 2027, the companies said.