Dairy company plans £90m investment and 90 jobs at Lockerbie site

The Danish-Swedish firm, which owns brands such as Lurpack and Cravendale milk, said the money could see a new UHT centre of excellence - used for the sterilisation of low acid foods - creating 90 new jobs.

The investment would have an impact on other Arla Foods sites, with the possible closure of the one in Settle, Yorkshire.

Arla said the plans underlined its ambitions to continue its growth to "support UK manufacturing and the future of British dairy".

As well as the closure at Settle, it has been reported some of its operations currently based in Stourton, Leeds, would move to the south of Scotland.

The company said it would enter into a collective consultation period with all staff affected by the proposal.

NFU Scotland said the multi-million-pound investment in milk processing in Scotland is “a huge vote of confidence in this nation’s ability to produce milk”.

Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, said: "The proposed investment into Lockerbie showcases our commitment to driving change in the UK, and supporting the future of British dairy.

"There is an increasing focus on the role the UK food industry plays in helping to tackle the health crisis and provide good food to nourish a growing population.

"We are aware that this proposal has the potential to impact colleagues across some of our UK sites, and our priority is to support them through this challenging time."

Arla Foods UK board director, and Arla farmer, Arthur Fearnall, said he was "incredibly proud" to see the investment proposed at Lockerbie.

"We're excited to see how this progresses over the coming years as we continue to work together to ensure all Arla farmer owners receive the best price for their milk," he said.

NFU Scotland’s milk committee chairman Bruce Mackie said: “This multi-million-pound investment in milk processing in Scotland by a ‘blue-chip’ European co-operative is a huge vote of confidence in this nation’s ability to produce milk.

“The proposed investment in UHT and Lactofree production at the site has the potential to double the milk-processing capacity at Lockerbie and we look forward to hearing how Scottish producers can help meet the co-op’s demand for additional milk.

“The sustainability ambitions of Arla are aligned with the capabilities of Scottish dairy farms to produce low carbon milk in a sustainable manner through efficient and well invested farms operating in a climate that is ideally suited to milking cows.

“There is tremendous potential for raw milk production in Scotland and this investment in stainless steel and innovation north of the Border is not only welcome, but it must send a clear signal to other milk processers about the huge potential to invest in Scottish dairying and that we are open for business.”

Arla hit the headlines in November last year over a controversial move to trial Bovaer, an additive for cattle feed said to reduce methane by some 27 per cent, on more than 30 of the company’s farms. It said it would work with Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco in the trial.

The additive has been approved by the Food Standards Agency and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), but the announcement caused backlash, with swathes of British shoppers threatening to boycott all three supermarkets and Arla brands.