A key meeting on the subject of migrant workers in Herefordshire tonight (Wednesday) coincides with the unveiling of a radical new strategy by one of the county’s largest employers, soft fruit giant S&A Produce.
Later today, West Midlands MEP Neena Gill will be visiting the company’s Marden site, where bosses are seeking local approval for new proposals through a series of open days .
If the latest plans are approved, it would mean a 50 per cent reduction in the number of polytunnels – and a cut in the number of migrant workers needed, the firm has announced this week
The subject of considerable controversy in the past, the firm has plans for a much more co-operative strategy, explained community relations manager, Rebecca Edmonds.
Last week, town councillors and members of the public were invited to the company’s Fisheries’ site at Brierley Court Farm, the subject of a planning application for seasonal workers caravans and pods which was turned down by Herefordshire Council earlier this month.
The company’s use of polytunnels, and the thousands of migrant seasonal workers they employ, has frequently sparked angry opposition in the community and the council chamber, though a shift in company policy has led to a new mood of openness. Referring to “four years of legal appeals and wrangling”, Ms Edmonds said it was hoped that communications with surrounding communities would break down barriers.
Tonight’s public meeting at 7pm in the Shirehall in Hereford has been called by Herefordshire Labour Party.
Neena Gill, who will be giving a keynote speech in support of migrant labour at the meeting, said: “I am very pleased to be able to visit S&A Produce and see how they have improved conditions for workers. Local trades unions have told me their negotiations with employers at the company have led to far better working practices.”
“Migrant labour, particularly from Eastern Europe, is vital to the local economy in Hereford and Herefordshire.”
At Marden the MEP will see a working model for future operations. Said Ms Edmunds: “This is the first time we have put forward a master plan, a working model.
We want to work closely with the council, and we want to find a framework that is agreeable to councillors and the public. We are kicking off a much more co-operative strategy.”
“By early July we would hope to be in a position to submit an application for either Marden or Brierley.”
She admitted there had been a “stand off” for too long, and that there had been four years of protracted legal appeals and wrangling.
She added that a new table-top berry production method would cut the number of polytunnels by 50%, while also reducing the number of migrant workers required.
Visitors to the Brierley site last week were “very interested and reassured” said Ms Edmunds. “People have totally misunderstood that the company is going to expand, expand, expand, but this is putting their minds at rest.”
The MEP will also meet Leominster’s Mayor, Councillor Peter McCaull, and discuss an independent survey commissioned by the town council giving details of the Bargates, an area of Leominster subject to heavy traffic congestion and identified as Herefordshire’s most polluted blackspot.
Town councillors have made urgent calls for an east to west by-pass to ease the problem which is anticipated to worsen with plans for development of 425 houses at Barons Cross.
lThe Journal Says – Page 4
