Member Article

Holsworthy agri-business centre on track for spring opening

The new £6 million Agri-Business Centre in Holsworthy, Torridge, is on track to open in the spring following the completion of the structure’s steel frame, according to leading UK construction and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall.

It took the Morgan Sindall team 850 hours to construct the 218 tonne frame which consists of 10,101 metres of rolled steel. Work will now begin on completing the building at the 30 acre site which is the largest single project ever undertaken by Torridge District Council.

Livestock auctioneers Kivells will operate the new centre once it is completed. It will comprise livestock lairage, pens and auction rings. The centre will also include purpose built units for use by farming-related businesses and a canteen.

Chris Spear, area director for Morgan Sindall, said: “Seeing the frame of the building complete is a key milestone, allowing people to get an understanding of the scale of the centre. This project is on a size never seen before in Torridge and it is pleasing to know that so many people are anticipating the first auction there next year.”

The new market is being constructed on a greenfield site, which meant plans had to be made for ground and surface water to be stored and collected without the existing water courses becoming overburdened. A 300,000 litre water tank will be installed to trap the rainwater from the roof and which will then be used for washing the market down.

Any surplus rainwater will be transported along with the ground water to a newly constructed pond which runs along the entire length of the building. The pond has the capability of storing over 1 million litres of water, which is slowly released into the watercourse in a controlled manner by a physical hydrobrake.

Mr Spear added: “The marketplace at Holsworthy was in need of updating to help provide for the future of farming in the area and strengthen the area’s resilience in these challenging economic times. The market has to meet strict biosecurity regulations and the new centre will be easier to sanitise after each market meet. The presence of offices for feed, machinery and insurance companies under one roof will be an advantage to all who use it.

“Farming is in the heart and soul of the community in Holsworthy and the facilities at the centre will provide for this completely. Morgan Sindall drew on its wealth of experience in schemes of this size and, as such, the project is very much on target to open for business in the spring.”

Mark Bromell, director at Kivells, said: “As a company who has been selling livestock throughout the south west of England for over 128 years, we are delighted to see a new livestock market being built in the heart of rural Devon in Holsworthy. We have seen excellent numbers of stock being sold through Holsworthy Market over the years and a new facility will enable us to provide a first class sales venue for existing and new customers from farms throughout the West Country.”

Morgan Sindall has also just completed the new £5 million livestock market at Bryngwyn, near Raglan. Constructed on a 27 acre site, it comprises 300 sheep pens and 150 cattle pens. The new trading facilities will serve the Monmouthshire farming community following the closure of Abergavenny livestock market.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .