Shreddies factory to build £66m extension

The maker of cereals including Shredded Wheat, Shreddies and Cheerios has been given the go-ahead for a £66m expansion of its manufacturing site.

Wiltshire Council has approved an application from Cereal Partners UK to expand its factory in Staverton, near Trowbridge.

The company said the expansion will secure 190 jobs and create 40 more.

Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for economic development Helen Belcher said the development was a "significant investment in the local economy" and the company had been an "established part of the local economy for many years".

The expansion to the Staverton site comes 15 months after the breakfast cereal company announced production at its factory on the Wirral was being stopped and relocated to the Wiltshire site.

Belcher said: "This investment demonstrates continued confidence in Wiltshire as a place to do business.

"It secures existing jobs at the Staverton site while also creating opportunities for future employment as the business grows."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the expansion will provide an extra 25,833 sq ft (2,400 sq m) to the facility and is expected to improve the site's capacity and efficiency.

It is hoped it will also help the company to respond more effectively to changing consumer demand.

A spokesperson for the company had previously said sales of breakfast cereal were "in significant decline owing to the changing habits of UK and Irish consumers and greater competition from alternative breakfast options".

Wiltshire Council welcomed the investment and said it built on recent business growth in the Trowbridge area, including the approval of Apetito's Kitchen West food production facility.

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