The UK’s oldest sugar factory opened its gates for beet deliveries this week as it kicks off its latest campaign following an £11m energy efficiency investment.
British Sugar's site at Cantley was built on the banks of the River Yare in 1912, and the plume of steam rising from its chimney has since become a prominent landmark on the Broads skyline.
The factory produces an average of 130,000 tonnes of sugar every year, from around one million tonnes of sugar beet grown by East Anglian farmers.
A new £11m combined heat and power (CHP) plant will come online at the start of the 2025/26 sugar beet campaign. It will power factory operations and is expected to increase energy efficiency as well as reducing annual site emissions by 16,000 tonnes.
Further investments have also been made this summer to reinforce reliability across the Cantley site, including replacing decade-old equipment and installing new electrical infrastructure.
Site general manager Andy Dilks said: "As the UK’s oldest sugar beet factory, it’s important that we maintain the equipment that we have to the best of our ability, but to also invest for the future. Our new CHP plant demonstrates our commitment to reliability, efficiency and reducing our environmental impact.
“The team are looking forward to getting the campaign underway and reaping the benefits of our recent investments.”
The CHP plant is set up for "fuel flexibility", should hydrogen become available across the East Anglia energy network in the future, said British Sugar.
The company said the team at Cantley is "always striving to be a good neighbour" and is aware of the need to minimise disruption on the local community - particularly with ongoing roadworks on the A47 affecting travel to and from the factory.
Mr Dilks said: “There is a higher volume of inbound and outbound traffic during our campaign period, but I’d like to reassure local residents that we are doing all that we can and have communicated clearly with all stakeholders regarding the travel disruption and diversion routes.”
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