Vertical farm developers seal deal on Suffolk site

Added on 16 May 2022

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Vertical farm developers seal deal on Suffolk site

A multi-million pound vertical farm is due to be launched in an unused warehouse in Suffolk after the signing of a lease agreement.

The farm - which will be capable of producing 415 tonnes of food a year - is earmarked for a warehouse in Newmarket Business Park.

Construction work on the 6,400m sq farm - to be built by agritech specialists IGS Ltd and operated by OneFarm - will begin later this year, say those behind the project. A second phase is set to involve an area of 13,000m sq which would increase the overall farm capacity to 1,000t a year.

OneFarm says it is working alongside Suffolk County Council (SCC) and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to deliver the project.

OneFarm and IGS have joined forces to create 25 vertical farms across the UK, the first of which is planned for a disused warehouse at Newmarket Business Park Picture: IGS - Credit: IGS

The farm will be the first of 25 which Onefarm and IGS plan to deliver around the UK over the coming years and is expected to be operational by around May of next year.

The scheme has been funded by public and private investors and is part of the LEP's "Clean Growth" ambitions for the region.

The first phase involves a growing area in nine-metre-high growth towers which will be retrofitted into the existing disused warehouse site.