Plans for a large chicken processing plant, which could create up to 900 jobs in north Suffolk, have been unveiled. The proposals have been outlined in a scoping opinion document that claims the new factory in Eye could process two million birds and provide a much-needed jobs boost for the area.

Plans for a large chicken processing plant, which could create up to 900 jobs in north Suffolk, have been unveiled.

The proposals have been outlined in a scoping opinion document that claims the new factory in Eye could process two million birds and provide a much-needed jobs boost for the area.

The document has been sent out by agents Plandescil on behalf of multinational food production company Vion, which is looking to expand its UK operations.

Agent Julian Riley reports that a 'significant' amount of traffic would be generated, with one HGV movement every four minutes across the plant's proposed 16-hour-a-day operating times.

The scoping opinion document for the site at Eye Airfield has been sent to Mid Suffolk District Council and has been distributed to stakeholders to seek feedback on design and environmental issues in advance of a planning application.

It explains that the steel-framed factory unit would be about 8.5metres high and would incorporate the 'latest thinking' in chicken processing from across the world.

Mr Riley adds: 'It is expected that the total labour force, many of whom will work in a shift pattern, will reach 900 people at peak times, with a maximum of 700 on site at any one time. It goes without saying that the new plant would be as sustainable as is practical.'

A spokesman for Vion UK, which bought Grampian Foods last year, said the Eye application was one of a number of opportunities the company was exploring and had not yet made a decision on whether it was going ahead with the plans.