September 13, 2022 8.57 am This story is over 18 months old

New South Holland King Prawn hatchery could reduce environmental impact of imports

It would create more than 120 jobs in the long term

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A Lincolnshire company is hoping plans to build a new King Prawn hatchery and farm in Crowland will help reduce reliance on imports and reduce carbon emissions.

Flo-Gro Systems has applied to South Holland District Council to build the new facility on Decoy Farm, off Spalding Road.

Documents submitted to the authority said the company, which already has a research and development facility elsewhere in the county, had around £1.7 million of funding in place and wanted to upscale production.

Those behind the business are hoping to grow 250 tonnes a year by 2024, expanding to 2,500 tonnes a year over the following five to seven years.

“Almost all (99.9%) of prawns eaten in this country are imported and almost 50% of carbon emissions linked to food consumption are created overseas from food imports,” said the documents.

“The prawns produced at Decoy Farm will be sold in the UK and will help reduce the reliance on imports.”

Flo-Gro Systems already has routes to market, they said, with prawns already sold to high-end restaurant, food service and retailers such as Mindful Chef, Harrods and Selfridges, along with more than 2,000 customers directly.

Site layout plans submitted to South Holland District Council.

Decoy Farm aims to become a green energy and recycling park and the latest application will include solar panels for energy along with plans to feed into the nearby anaerobic digestion plant on site.

Developers said they want the new building to be as “symbiotic as possible” with the existing facilities and that the entire process of growing the prawns will be “as energy efficient as possible” and will result in “zero waste to landfill” with any waste produced going to nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.

Flo-Gro Systems will be investing in excess of £20 million in the first phase of development and said the job will also create more than 120 jobs in the long-term.