A CHEESE manufacturer based in Cricket St Thomas, near Chard, has been granted permission to build an extension to its factory.
Lubborn Cheese Ltd can now increase the size of its production floorspace at Manor Farm by around 374 square metres.
In August 2022, a planning application was submitted with the aim of giving the company “additional production area for a specific element of the cheese-making process”.
The proposals were centred on the installation of automated equipment for turning cheese so the company can maintain and increase production volumes.
South Somerset District Council approved the application on Tuesday, January 3.
The proposals said: “Currently, to deal with existing orders, the factory is lacking in space to drain and turn the cheese once it is in the mould.
“The proposed small extension on the rear of the existing draining rooms will provide the additional space required.
“The area to be covered by the proposed extension is currently an open yard at the bottom of the entrance driveway.
“This area was originally left free for future expansion and is not used for any specific purpose.”
The proposals form part of a larger application submitted by Lubborn Cheese to demolish four original farm buildings, including a space let to the Cricket St Thomas estate for offices and an “almost derelict” cottage.
These buildings would be replaced with a two-storey extension to enable Lubborn to increase production to meet projected demand for at least five years.
The smaller plans were submitted seperately to “allow considerable improvement in the first stage of the cheese-making process whether the major application is approved or not”.
The application concluded: “The proposed extension is a simple lean-to steel framed building in materials matching the existing and covers an area of the site which was specifically set aside for future expansion.
“We believe the proposed extension to be of a scale and design which will not detract from the aesthetic of the existing building and will have no detrimental effect on the local environment.”
Permission was granted because the extension would “provide a commensurate expansion to an existing and well-established business and would not have any adverse effect on landscape character”.
Lubborn Cheese supplies supermarkets including Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Coop, Morrison's and M&S.
The business started trading in 1982 and moved to Cricket St Thomas from Crewkerne around 20 years later.
It has been part of the Lactalis Group since 2009. The factory makes mould-ripened soft cheese, including brie and camembert.
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