Soft drinks firm plans to expand Leeming Bar manufacturing base

Andrew Cawthray established Cawingredients at Leeming Bar, with the firm employing 460 people at the site

A soft drinks company has unveiled new plans to expand its manufacturing base in North Yorkshire.

Cawingredients said it aimed to extend its factory on Leeming Bar Industrial Estate by building new storage buildings and other infrastructure.

The move, submitted to North Yorkshire Council, would consolidate its existing storage and distribution facilities and create further jobs, the company said.

It currently employs around 460 people at its site near the A1(M).

Cawingredients recently lodged a request with the council to consider what specialist studies would be needed when it submitted a proposal for a 525,000sq ft (48,774sq m) factory beside the industrial estate, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A planning application for the factory was set to be submitted in spring, the firm said.

The latest application states that the Cawingredients factory was currently operating at full capacity.

"Cawingredients' presence in Leeming Bar is of clear social and economic benefit to North Yorkshire, supporting the growth of the local economy and delivering jobs for local people," the firm said in its application.

The planning documents highlight how the firm recruited 65% of its employees from the former Hambleton district area, while other employees commuted significant distances to the factory from Leeds, Harrogate and the north east.