Chard Oscar Mayer factory expected to be replaced by housing after sale

Hundreds of people were made redundant when the factory closed in August 2021

The site of a former ready meals factory which operated in Chard for almost 40 years has been sold.

The Oscar Mayer factory closed in August 2021 with the loss of 860 jobs.

The firm said at the time that it was relocating because it was too expensive to modernise the buildings on the site.

While the buyer has not yet been named, the estate agents overseeing the sale had been in talks with the local council about redeveloping the site for housing.

Oscar Mayer operated in Chard for 38 years and was the Somerset town's second largest employer.

It started as a family butcher's in South London in 1935 and expanded into food manufacturing across the UK, opening in Chard in 1983.

Following the closure, many staff were given support to find new jobs.