THE DEVELOPER behind plans for £50m sustainable greenhouses will pull the plug on the project if it fails to secure Wrexham Council planning consent before a tariff deadline.

Despite the scheme, which could bring 150 new jobs to Wrexham, moving a step closer on Tuesday with the formal submission of a planning application, the developer - Low Carbon Farming - has stressed the importance of planning permission being granted by October 1.

This is because Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) tariffs are being scaled back 20 per cent on October 1, meaning failure to get planning permission before that date will see the plans withdrawn.

First unveiled in April, the project - which would be located directly between Dwr Cymru’s Five Fords Waste-Water Treatment Works and SecAnim Abattoir - aims to be the centrepiece of a ‘green recovery’ from Covid-19 for the region.

The structures, similar in design to two world first projects currently in construction in East Anglia, would capture both waste heat and carbon emissions from the Dwr Cymru facility and use them to grow significant quantities of low carbon fresh produce on site.

The greenhouses’ high productivity, hydroponic growing system also uses ten times less water than traditional agriculture.

Scheduled for construction as early as spring 2021, it is hoped the project’s promise of direct employment in both construction and operation, as well as indirectly through the agricultural supply chain, will help put Wrexham at the heart of Wales’ ‘green recovery’ from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Andy Allen, a director at Low Carbon Farming, said: “It has been a genuine pleasure to engage with the local community and to have so many warm and detailed discussions about our plans. We now have a very clear view of local sentiment and this has informed our formal application.

“We wouldn’t have proposed this project if we didn’t think it was the right fit for Wrexham and 100 per cent deliverable. These proposals are innovative, they’re green and they’ve been well received locally.

“But we can only unlock investment and employment for Wrexham at this crucial time if we qualify for funding support from the UK government’s Renewable Heat Incentive. That requires our planning application to be determined in September and in accordance with best practice. Anything less than an efficient local planning process will see the opportunity lost.

"We have though made a point of highlighting that it’s a time-limited opportunity since the window for support funding from UK Government is closing.

"We therefore make no apology for now testing the efficiency of the council’s planning team and its statutory target of determining new planning applications within an eight week timeframe”.

If used solely for growing tomatoes, as is planned for the developer’s two world-first projects currently in construction in East Anglia, the Five Fords site would be capable of producing over 40 per cent of all tomatoes consumed in Wales.

Employing a high productivity growing system, the two greenhouses will capture and recycle all run-off water. This prevents any harmful soil leaching and run off, and harvests all rainwater on site.

A Wrexham Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have received this application which will go through the planning process and be reported to the earliest planning committee once this process is completed.”