Thu Sep 12 04:58:00 UTC 2024: ## Charlie Bigham’s Gets Green Light for Expansion, Bringing New Jobs and Efficiency to Somerset

**Wells, Somerset** – Charlie Bigham’s, a major employer in Somerset known for its premium ready-to-eat meals, has received approval to expand its food production campus in Dulcote Quarry, near Wells. The project, which has been in the planning stages for two years, is expected to begin construction within the next few months.

The expansion includes a 15-meter extension to the existing kitchen, optimizing production and energy efficiency. Additionally, a new dispatch building will be constructed, housing new offices, storage facilities, and a logistics and consolidation area. This area will streamline operations, allowing for direct deliveries and reducing the number of heavy goods vehicles visiting the site.

The new dispatch building will handle intake and storage of packaging materials, as well as sorting, packing, and storage of finished meals. This will facilitate full automation of the packing process, enhancing efficiency and potentially leading to new job opportunities in other areas of the business.

“The new building is required for both the intake and storage of packaging material, and the sorting, packing, storage and dispatch of finished meals,” explained a spokesman for Pentadel, representing Charlie Bigham’s. “Additional office space is required to support the phase one production kitchen offices along with plant, toilets and changing facilities.”

The expansion is strategically located near the busy A371 Bishop’s Park Way, providing easy access for both employees and deliveries. The Strawberry Line multi-user path, a popular active travel route, also runs past the site, offering employees an alternative mode of transportation.

“I know from Charlie Bigham’s themselves that quite a few of their workers now use the path coming from Wells,” said Strawberry Line Society trustee Richard Jones. “But they said most of their workforce lives in Shepton Mallet, so once it opens up all the way it will be life-changing.”

The expansion project, approved by Somerset Council’s planning officers, promises to enhance both efficiency and job opportunities within the company. Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year.

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