Nestlé’s planned move out of town could spark a fresh retail controversy. Steve Caddy reports...

The unveiling by Nestlé Waters of plans for a state-of-the-art bottling plant on the outskirts of Buxton follows months of speculation over the fate of its existing town centre home.

Longstanding rumours have linked supermarket giant Tesco with the Station Road site, which Nestlé wants to exchange for modern bottling facilities, ending unsatisfactory storage arrangements at Harpur   Hill.

Nestlé has confirmed that it is in discussion with a retailer, but will not reveal its identity. And following the water company’s announcement, Tesco has refused to comment on the speculation.

However, the retail giant has previously stated that Buxton is a location of interest – and Station Road would provide a prominent town centre position.

If the speculation is confirmed, it is sure to spark protests from local campaigners who fought a high-profile battle to stop Sainsbury’s anchoring a planned extension to Spring Gardens Shopping Centre.

Nestlé has a launched a public consultation over its plans to build one of Europe’s most modern bottling facilities on Waterswallows Lane, with a public exhibition at the Palace Hotel on November 24.

The move comes as developers behind a rival scheme for a bottling plant in Cowdale Quarry have announced an appeal against High Peak Borough Council’s refusal of planning permission. They have also named another continental water company, the Italian firm Mangiatorella, as the would-be partner in their scheme.

Nestlé aims to submit a planning application towards the end of this year for a multi-million-pound plant, linked by pipeline with the Buxton Natural Mineral water source under the Crescent.

The company has commissioned Severn Trent Services to examine different routes for the pipeline, following public highways where possible. A preferred route has been identified in discussions with Derbyshire County Council and a separate planning application for the work will be submitted.

Nestlé says the relocation, to a 50-acre site next to the Waterswallows waste recycling centre, is necessary to increase capacity, efficiency and environmental performance.

The new bottling lines, which could be running by spring 2012,  would allow Nestlé to significantly reduce its total energy output, as well as its packaging. The plant would, for the first time, combine the bottling facility with warehousing capability to create one of the most innovative and efficient bottling lines available in the world.

“Buxton Natural Mineral Water is now the most popular British water in the UK and the business has grown accordingly. This year alone we have increased our staff numbers at the factory by 19%, taking us to 86 permanent employees,” said a company spokesman.

“We also recently agreed on a new licence with High Peak Borough Council which extends our commitment to Buxton for another 100 years. But the reality is that the current facility is too old and too limited for our needs and we need a new plant in order for us to remain competitive.”

The public exhibition at The Palace, from 1pm-8pm, will allow members of the community to view and give feedback on the latest proposals. Representatives from Nestlé and members of its consultation team will be on hand to answer questions.

“Buxton Natural Mineral Water has an important role in the town’s history and economy,” says project leader Matthew Beddoe. “We very much welcome local people to the exhibition and urge them to get involved in the consultation.”

Meanwhile, developers behind the Cowdale scheme intend to lodge an appeal against the council’s decision before Christmas.

In refusing the scheme, councillors said that there was no justification for siting a bottling plant in the countryside when other alternatives were available.

The developers say they have now written to the local authority asking for a list of the alternative sites referred to by members of the planning committee.

“There is, in our opinion, enough weight to our case to justify overturning planning policy – and in our opinion there is no alternative site,” said a spokesman.

Mangiatorella would use a bottling plant at Cowdale to spearhead its expansion into the UK, he added: “They have been looking at the UK for quite a while because the market for bottled water is still growing here.”

UK bottled water sales grew by 1.4% to more than two billion litres last year despite the economic downturn, according to drinks consultancy Zenith International.

Zenith chairman Richard Hall said the organisation had always believed there was momentum to long-term growth in the category. But while 9% more bottled water was consumed than five years ago, the market dynamics were not all pointing in the same direction.

“Concerns have been raised about environmental impact, but these are progressively being answered. The economic downturn has been another adverse factor in the past two years, putting greater emphasis on value for money,” he said.

This article has been supplied courtesy of Pure Magazine. © Pure Buxton 2010