The paper mill will give the region a huge economic boost of £26.5m every year – while creating a fifth of the UK’s paper
A Finnish firm has been given the green light to create the biggest tissue paper mill in the UK at Humber Freeport, creating more than 450 jobs. Metsä Group first unveiled plans to build a factory in Goole in 2023 ahead of launching a series of public consultation exercises to highlight the benefits to the area, in terms of the huge job creation opportunities and economic boost its proposals could deliver.
Those proposals – earmarked for land southeast of North Airmyn Grang – were tweaked after initial consultation and have now been mulled by planners at East Riding of Yorkshire Council who approved the scheme, subject to Metsä meeting a number of legal agreements.
The huge factory, extending to around three million square feet of space once complete, is to be built in four separate phases over 10 years. Once finished, the mill will produce around 240,000 tonnes of tissue paper every year – one fifth of all tissue paper made in the UK – slashing the UK’s reliance on imports within the industry by more than 30%
The £1bn company produces hygiene products for households and professionals as well as greaseproof papers for food preparation and packaging. It currently has bases in Finland, where it has its headquarters, as well as King’s Lynn, Norfolk, and a number of subsidiaries in countries including Latvia and Germany.
Planning documents highlight how the construction phase will create or sustain around 338 jobs over a 10-year build period, giving a boost to regional construction, the supply chain and local services, and 16-34 training and apprenticeship opportunities will be supported each year.
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As it is being built the project is set to serve up an economic boost of a whopping £217m – with an average of £3.67m in business rates expected to be generated every year, all of which will be retained within the local area for a period of 25 years, a benefit of the Freeport tax site designation. It is estimated it will create between 405 and 459 full time jobs. And it will also pump a significant economic boost into the region too – around £26.5m of gross value added (GVA) every year.
The planning committee documents, discussed at the meeting, said: “Overall, the economic benefits associated with the development are significant. Economic activity within the local area of the development is understood to be lower than the regional and national average, and the 161 unemployment rate among the working age population is the same as the regional average but lower than the national average therefore the employment generated is considered a significant benefit of the proposal.”
The council planners highlighted how the open views across the site would by significantly altered, saying: “Significant adverse effects would be experienced during construction on the site character and landscape character area, replacing open fields with a busy construction site. Similar effects would be experienced by residents in the vicinity and users of surrounding Public Right of Ways. “
It says how 15 years on, planting around the site will be established, “substantially enclosing its boundaries” although “there would however continue to be significant adverse effects on the landscape within the site due to the dominance of new large-scale industrial buildings and associated infrastructure, compared to the former open arable fields.”
The project has been approved subject to a number of legal agreements being signed including financial contribution for the J36 M62 highway improvement works covering 8.1% of the overall cost of the works. It must also make a financial contribution for the Glews roundabout improvement scheme of £130,200; financial contribution for public transport service improvements at £140,000, as well as other contributions for travel planning and habitat creation.
A spokesman for Metsä Group added: “The Planning Committee of East Riding of Yorkshire Council has endorsed Metsä Tissue’s planning application, subject to certain stipulations. The application will be closed by decision notice once open issues are closed.”