S&A to look closer to home for workers

8:00am Wednesday 19th November 2008

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A COUNTY fruit grower could soon be looking closer to home for its seasonal workers.

A spokesman for S&A Produce said finding seasonal workers abroad was hard this year, and would have been worse had the firm not carried out its own recruitment, mainly via its website.

Rebecca Edmonds, S&A’s community relations manager, said with eastern European economies performing so well, the company may soon be looking closer to home for fruit pickers.

“With table top polytunnels making picking easier and more efficient, we are hoping more local people will come and work for us on a seasonal basis,” she added.

S&A Produce is also hoping to move its packing factory out of Marden to an industrial estate should its latest round of planning applications be successful.

A number of proposals will be submitted to Herefordshire Council later this month in a bid to improve fruit picking efficiency, workers’ accommodation and the visual impact of polytunnels.

Ms Edmonds said changes had been made to the applications based on feedback from public meetings in May.

Consultation meetings also took place last week at Brierley Court Farm, near Leominster, and Brook Farm, Marden.

Members of the public and a number of councillors met S&A directors to discuss the latest planning applications.

Speaking last week, Ms Edmonds said traffic problems and footpaths were the main issues raised earlier in the year.

“It is our medium-term objective to move the packing facility out of the village and onto an industrial site,” she said.

“There has been concern about heavy goods vehicles going through the village and, after the current applications, this is the next big project.

“We are already looking at possible sites with the local authority and somewhere like the Enterprise Park at Leominster would be perfect.”

Road sweepers and litter pickers have been sent out regularly over the summer and work to improve some of the many public footpaths that intersect S&A land is underway.

The company also hopes to improve the views from footpaths with additional planting and landscaping.