Plans have now been submitted for a 拢50 million greenhouses project near Wrexham - with a warning the scheme may not be viable if it doesn鈥檛 receive rapid approval.
Under the plan Brighton-based Low Carbon Farming would build two 7.6 hectare sized commercial greenhouses and a packing facility between Dwr Cymru鈥檚 Five Fords Waste-Water Treatment Works and SecAnim Abattoir.
Waste heat and carbon emissions from the Dwr Cymru facility will be captured and used to grow the low carbon fresh produce. They say it has the potential to create 150 jobs.
But the company - which submitted the plans this week - says unless it can secure planning permission by September then the project is at risk.
They say from October 1 there will be a 25% degression in funding available to projects under the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, run by 海角视频 Government.
Before then, consented projects are guaranteed a higher rate of funding and the firm says the proposals for Wrexham have been worked up on the basis of the higher rate of funding.
Andy Allen, a director at Low Carbon Farming, said: 鈥淚t has been a genuine pleasure to engage with the local community and to have so many warm and detailed discussions about our plans.
鈥淲e now have a very clear view of local sentiment and this has informed our formal application.
鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 have proposed this project if we didn鈥檛 think it was the right fit for Wrexham and 100% deliverable.
鈥淲e have though made a point of highlighting that it鈥檚 a time-limited opportunity since the window for support funding from 海角视频 Government is closing.
鈥淲e therefore make no apology for now testing the efficiency of the council鈥檚 planning team and its statutory target of determining new planning applications within an eight week timeframe.鈥
If used solely for growing tomatoes, as is planned for the developer鈥檚 two world-first projects currently in construction in East Anglia, the Five Fords site would be capable of producing over 40% of all tomatoes consumed in Wales.
Sign up to the BusinessLive Wales newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
As well as an in-depth early morning newsletter, we will be sending out regular breaking news email alerts. To sign up to this service
And, follow us on to catch the latest stories and to network with the Welsh business community.
The firm added: 鈥淓mploying a high productivity, state-of-the-art, growing system, the greenhouses will capture and recycle all run-off water.
鈥淭his prevents any harmful soil leaching and run off, and harvests all rainwater on site.鈥
The first two greenhouses to use this waste heat currently being constructed in East Anglia are due to be completed later this year.
