Grower needs building to help it be more eco-friendly

Barfoots, of Botley, uses its Sefter Farm site to maintain is position as Europe's biggest grower of sweetcorn.

National retailers, such as Tesco, sell the produce which is nurtured, packaged and processed at the 510-acre location alongside Pagham Road.

But the shops' desire to become environmentally friendly means that they are seeking to wrap their fruit and vegetables in cardboard rather than plastic. The switch to renewable materials means that Barfoots needs extra covered space to store the packaging under cover. The company has submitted a planning application to Arun District Council to extend its packaging store by a further 422sq m to enable that to happen.

Barfoots' planning agent Douglas Briggs said the company wanted to make the best use of natural resources and existing infrastructure.

'The application proposals are intended to provide the facilities for the applicants to expand and adapt and stay competitive,' he commented in a statement.

The building will be located in the space currently occupied by a small yard adjacent to the existing store.